


BoLin

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: AU, F/M, First Time, Older Woman/Younger Man, Seduction, technically underage as he is 16
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-15
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-11-07 19:02:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 102,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/434336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is being written in between 'Out of the Past' and... whatever episode follows 'Out of the Past,' I don't remember the title. So it will obviously be overtaken by events and doesn't fit into continuity and you know what, I don't care, because get it, Lin.<br/>Metalbending lessons and total smut.<br/>(ETA: I thought I'd finish this story because it wouldn't fit in with continuity, but then I decided to fudge it as an AU. It's going on and actually might develop a plot, though given my track record of starting stories I can't finish, I hope nobody gets too attached to that.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Dear Bolin,_

_I think you have potential. You’re a decent earthbender and I would like to see if we can get you metalbending. If you’re interested, call at my house this afternoon at two. Bring a change of clothes and don’t eat a heavy lunch._

_Lin Beifong_

Bolin passed the letter over the table to Mako. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

It took Mako a moment to respond; Bolin realised he was preoccupied thinking about Korra, who’d been asleep all morning, recuperating from her kidnapping adventure. Well, he was worried about Korra too; he thought maybe Mako should get a little more occupied with Asami, who was clearly bummed. He didn’t want to poke his nose into that, though, so he drank his tea while Mako read the note.

‘Sounds like a good opportunity,’ Mako said. ‘You should go.’ He handed the letter back and resumed staring moodily into his teacup.

‘You want to come with me?’

‘What would be the point? I can’t earthbend. I’d just be sitting around.’

‘You’re just sitting around here,’ Bolin pointed out. ‘I thought you might like an outing, that’s all.’

‘I’d be a third wheel.’ Mako shook his head. ‘And I want to be here when Korra wakes up.’

‘Mako...’ Bolin said hesitantly. ‘Have you talked to Asami today?’

‘No. She’s in some kind of a mood. I don’t think I should bother her. I’m gonna go practise a little.’ Mako got up. ‘Good luck with the metalbending - have fun, either way.’

 

Bolin packed a bag, scooped up Pabu and asked a couple of the Air Acolytes to ferry him across the harbour. It was a cold, raw day, the sky full of curdled grey clouds that promised snow before evening. Pabu curled around his neck and shoulders like a living muffler, and he rubbed his cheek on the warm russet fur appreciatively. His nose was running pretty hard by the time they reached the city dock, and he wiped it on his sleeve. It’d be good to have a coat for winter, but for now Pabu would have to do. Man... if they could have won the tournament, winter coats would have been no problem. Even a little matching one for Pabu.

‘Don’t worry, buddy,’ he told the fire ferret, ‘one day you’ll have a coat for every day of the week and you’ll cause a sensation.’ Pabu sneezed in his ear.

It was quite a hike uptown to the Beifong mansion, so that warmed him up. He was even sweating under the arms a little when he reached the impressive bronze door, just before two. He rang the bell, wiped his nose again and waited. The door was opened by a uniformed maid, who conducted him through to the rear of the house, which turned out to be a good-sized gymnasium, designed for earthbending. The floor was packed earth, with a sand-pit at one and and slabs and chunks of rock and metal arranged around the walls. Lin was sitting on a bench between two boulders, drinking water. She was barefoot, dressed in loose grey pants and a sleeveless undershirt, a towel slung around her neck. She had a couple of pretty big bruises on her bare, smoothly muscled arms, fading through shades of brown and yellow, and a sheen of sweat over her skin. A few strands of her iron-grey hair had worked loose around her temples and at the nape of her neck. Bolin realised he was staring and hurried over to bow.

‘Chief Beifong - I mean, Ms Beifong, thanks a lot for inviting me.’ She gave him an appraising look, and he felt his cheeks grow warm. ‘I have no idea if I can metalbend, but I’ll give it my best shot. I’m a hard worker.’

‘At least you’re all zipped up today,’ she said with a faint smile. ‘Who’s your friend?’

‘Oh, this is Pabu. He’s our mascot and my best buddy! Say hi, Pabu.’ He scooped Pabu off his shoulders and held him out to Lin.

‘He’s cute,’ Lin said, uncertainly, reaching out to chuck Pabu’s chin. He licked her finger, and she drew it back. ‘Okay,’ she said briskly, getting up. ‘Take your jacket off, kiddo. You’re going to sweat. Shoes too.’

‘Yes ma’am!’ Bolin sat down and got to work on his shoes.

‘You don’t have to call me ma’am,’ she said, sounding dryly amused. ‘Lin will be fine.’

‘And I noticed we use the same character for “lin” in both our names,’ Bolin said, stuffing his socks into his shoes. ‘I thought that was pretty cool. You can call me Bo if you want. Pabu,’ he added, stripping off his jacket, ‘you sit here, okay, boy? Stay clear - wouldn’t want you to get hurt.’ Pabu curled up on the folded jacket and wrapped his tail around his body.

‘We’re going to start with the basics,’ Lin said, crossing to the centre of the dirt floor. ‘Show me your horse stance.’

‘My what?’ Bolin asked, hurrying to join her. The packed earth felt warm and gritty under his feet.

‘This is the problem with pro benders and street benders,’ Lin said. ‘You’ve got power, and you’re quick, but there’s too much flash and you don’t even know the real names for what you’re doing. This,’ she said, taking a pose. ‘This is the horse stance.’

‘Oh, okay, I know that one.’ Bolin matched the pose. ‘I guess it does look like you’re straddling a horse. Good name.’ Lin walked around him, looking him over critically. 

‘Not bad,’ she said. ‘You need some adjustments for better balance.’ She stepped behind him, clapped one hand onto his backside and pushed his hips forward. ‘Little lower, too. Spread your legs and plant your feet. Good.’ She pushed on his thigh, too, and he was startled by just how strong her hands were. ‘Straighten your back. Chest up. Good.’ She gave him a slap on the chest like a seal of approval.

‘That, uh, that does feel stronger,’ Bolin admitted. His cheeks were burning now, partly because of the grabbing and partly because he could smell her sweat. _What are you thinking? She’s, like, an old lady - well no, she’s not an_ old _lady, but she’s_ older, _come on._

‘You’re in good shape,’ Lin went on, squeezing his upper arm. 

‘Um, thanks. You too. I mean, you’re really buff.’

‘Okay. Basic forms. Follow my lead.’

She put him through his paces, teaching him the proper names and correcting his form as they went. She was a fairly tough teacher, but she explained things clearly, and when he got it right she would give a small, approving nod that made him feel pretty good. The way she handled him felt pretty good too, her firm hands gripping and adjusting his body without any kind of hesitation or modesty. He was a little nervous about getting a semi, but so far he was doing all right. After an hour she called a break, slapped him on the ass and told him to get some water.

‘Am I doing okay?’ Bolin asked, rubbing his butt as he scooped a cup of water from the insulated jar on the bench. ‘When do we get to metalbending?’

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ Lin said, smiling. She stretched her arms over her head, and her shirt rode up from her waist, exposing a hard, flat stomach with well-defined muscles and another large bruise spreading up from over her hip. She sneaked her eyes sideways and caught Bolin staring over the rim of his cup.

‘Uh, ow!’ he said, pointing at the bruise. ‘Does that still hurt?’

‘Not really,’ she said. ‘I’m just a little stiff. Working out helps.’ She hooked a thumb into the waistband of her pants and tugged it down over her hip to show him the full extent of the bruise. ‘Pretty amazing, huh? I couldn’t sleep on that side for a week.’

‘Yowch,’ Bolin said, trying to stay focused on sympathy. He was a little stiff himself, and his face felt as hot as sunburn. ‘I, uh, I get pretty knocked around too. Just goes with the territory, I guess. So, uh, metalbending, how does that work?’

‘Okay, eager beaver,’ Lin said. She extended an arm, made a fist and tugged it back towards her. One of the boulders by the wall, a big black thing streaked with rust, rumbled over to her side. ‘Can you move that?’

‘I can sure try.’ He adjusted his stance, breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. ‘C’mon...’ He could feel the bulk of the thing, but trying to move it was like trying to push two matching magnets together. He grunted and shifted his feet, curling his toes into the dirt.

‘Tuck your ass in,’ Lin reminded him, stepping behind him and holding his hips. ‘Good.’ That totally blew his concentration, and he had to take another deep breath. ‘This is a meteorite,’ she was saying by his ear. ‘It fell from the sky when I was six, and my mother had it brought here. She gave a chunk to Uncle Sokka to make a new sword - see where it’s sheared off on that side? So this is thunderbolt iron you’re trying to move. It’s the first metal I worked with.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Bolin managed to say.

‘You have to find the earth _in_ the metal. It helps if you put your hands on it. Grab on.’ She emphasised that by grabbing his butt, a cheek in each hand. ‘Keep your back straight. You’re pushing your tail out too far.’

‘Uh-huh.’ It was more of a squeak than a grunt. He planted both hands on the rough surface of the meteorite. It felt deeply cold, and a shiver went up his back. Lin shifted her hands back up to his hips and stepped in closer, her chest and stomach against his back. ‘Okay,’ she said, her breath tickling his neck. ‘Close your eyes. Feel your way into it. Earth is your element. Earth is _you._ Hard and strong.’

 _Earth’s pants are getting way too tight,_ Bolin thought, and bit his lip. _Concentrate, kid. There’s earth in there. Breathe. I kind of want her to put her hands back on my ass. No... there it is. There it is..._ He could feel a thread of something familiar running through the iron. It thickened to a vein. The boulder was way too heavy for him to do more than rock it by pushing on it with his arms, but he could work with that vein. He grunted deep in his throat, exhaled slowly and the meteorite rolled forward. Lin bit his earlobe and he almost screamed.

‘Good job, honeybun,’ she murmured.

‘Uh.’ His heart was thumping and his head was throbbing. ‘I, uh, I don’t know, I’m not sure...’ She slid her hands to the front, up under his undershirt, over his belly and up to his chest. _I have a massive boner. What the hell am I supposed to do?_

‘Want me to stop?’ Lin whispered, and pinched his nipples. 

‘No!’ he blurted.

‘Okay.’ She squeezed them tight, rolling them between her thumbs and forefingers, and kissed the nape of his neck. ‘To put it the other way round... want me to keep going? Make you feel good?’

‘Uh... yeah...’

‘It’s okay if you’re not sure. I know I come on strong. We can take a break.’

‘No, don’t.’

‘Okay.’ She let go his nipples, which were burning now, and stroked her hands down over his belly again, rubbing in circles. ‘Hey, can I use a really bad line on you?’

‘Huh? Okay.’

‘Baby, you must be a waterbender too, because you got me all wet.’

That made him laugh, a really undignified snorting laugh, and he felt her laugh too, pressed up to his back like that. _I shouldn’t be doing this, I shouldn’t, Korra... well, Korra doesn’t wanna do this, does she? Oh... oh man..._ Lin’s fingers twitched, and his fly slid down. She slipped her hand into his pants, tracing the length of his erection through his underwear.

‘You’re so _hard,_ honey. Such a big, fat cock... is that for me?’

‘M-hm.’ He was sweating like crazy, and he wasn’t sure he was allowed to take his hands off the boulder. Did she just want him to hold still?

‘And big, warm balls.’ She was cupping them, rolling them in her palm, and he couldn’t hold back little grunts and gasps. Her other hand moved to stroke his butt again, and she gently bit the little bump at the top of his spine. ‘Are they pretty full?’

‘Ah... yeah...’

‘Is that for me too?’

‘If... if you want it...’

‘Yep.’ She pulled his shorts down, letting his cock swing free. ‘Let’s get your first shot out of the way now. I’ll need you to hold up for longer later.’

‘Okay...’ Bolin blinked at Lin’s hand, held up under his chin. 

‘Spit, honey.’

‘Right. _Ptu.’_ A second later, her hand was dragging down his shaft, it was warm and wet, and a huge surge of pleasure rolled through him. _I am_ not _going to last long like this. Man, I didn’t know getting my ass squeezed at the same time was going to do this to me._ He closed his eyes, trying to calm down, breathe deeply, but she was fingering the tip of his cock, sliding his foreskin up and down over the head, squeezing the precome out of him, and it felt so good that he could only pant. Rubbing again, palm all slick with his precome and spit, her hand was so strong but her palm was so soft, and it only took half a dozen strokes to bring him off, streams of sticky white spattering the black iron in front of him as sweet hot shudders filled his body. He slumped forward, his head down on his arms, then dropped to sit on his knees, sucking air deep into his lungs, the sharp smell of his come filling his nose and mouth. The tip of his wilting cock bumped the floor and he shuddered. Lin crouched behind him, stroking his shoulders. 

‘How was that?’ she asked quietly. 

‘Aah... aah...’

‘Come on, honeybun. You’re all sticky. Let’s hit the showers.’ She helped him up, slinging his arm over her shoulder. ‘It’s okay. Lean on me.’

There was a bathroom off the gymnasium, elegant in gold and white tile. Bolin sat on a stool catching his breath while Lin stripped off her sweaty clothes, dropping them with a damp slap on the floor. Her breasts were small and high with prominent toast-brown nipples, her body lean and wiry with powerful-looking muscle in her thighs. Apart from the bruising, she was so beautiful his chest ached. There was wiry dark hair clustered in a rough triangle between her legs, and he thought he could smell something from there, on top of the musky sweat smell. She was right in front of him, and he reached out, touched her hip, brought her closer with both his hands on her waist.

Lin stroked his hair back from his forehead and smiled down at him. ‘You have the prettiest eyes.’

‘Lin...’ He couldn’t think what to say, and settled for kissing her stomach, just under her navel. The salt on her skin stung his tongue. ‘You’re amazing,’ he mumbled.

‘Come on. Clothes off. You are a _big_ boy, aren’t you?’ She hauled him to his feet, undressed him briskly and pulled him into a glass-walled shower stall. Once the hot water was pouring down on their heads she really kissed him for the first time, on the mouth, her arms winding around his shoulders, sucking his lower lip so it throbbed.

‘Th-this is a first for me, and if I do anything wrong I’m really sorry,’ Bolin said when she let him go. Her nipples were poking into his chest; he felt them like little hot spots mirroring the heat that was already coming back down low in his belly. He put his arms around her, trying to hold her with the same kind of assurance as she held him.

‘You’re doing fine. I’m going to teach you, okay? We’re going to fuck, and you’re going to love it.’ She pulled him into another kiss, guiding his mouth with hers just as she’d guided his body with her hands. His excitement grew with his confidence; he found how to work his tongue against hers, felt her moaning softly into his mouth, and down between their bodies, below bellies pressed flat together so the water couldn’t run between them, his cock stiffened and thickened, nudging between her thighs. He passed his hands over her back, her hips and her bottom, kneading the firm flesh, feeling muscle tense and flicker under his fingers. At one point she flinched and he quickly withdrew his hand from the bruised area on her hip. _I can_ do _this. I might even be_ good _at it._

‘Okay,’ Lin said, pulling back, sounding breathless. Her face was flushed, the scar on her cheek looking paler instead of redder than the surrounding skin, and her eyes looked darker than usual. ‘Okay, let’s clean up. Give me the soap.’ She washed him quickly, slick hands lathering his armpits and his groin. Having his cock soaped felt so heavenly he almost whined when she took her hand away to rinse him off. 

‘Look at it this way, honey - I won’t enjoy sucking it if it’s soapy.’ Her firm hand swished the water through his pubic hair, making sure it rinsed clear.

‘Oh. _Oh._ No.’ His heart was hammering in his chest again. 

‘Want to do me?’ She put the bar of soap in his hand, and it took him a moment to figure out what to do with it. Washing under her arms, beneath her breasts, his hands were shaking a little. He bent his head to kiss her nipple and had to spit; too soapy. Lin laughed at him, gently, and caught water in her cupped hands to splash over her chest so he could try again. He drew the hard nipple into his mouth and sucked softly, feeling proud of himself when she groaned sweetly and pressed up to him.

‘Here.’ She took his soapy hand and pressed it in between her thighs. Hair rough on his palm, and soft _soft_ folds under his fingers. He felt around, cautiously, exploring. ‘Good boy,’ Lin breathed, her hand still moving his. ‘Feel this? This little bump? That’s my clit. _Yes._ Oh...’ He could feel her tensing up, her hips twitching against his hand. ‘You can slide your finger down a little further... there... slide in... that’s right... that’s where you’re going. Oh, sweetie, your face is so _red._ That’s okay, that’s good, you can go deeper. Oh!’ She squeezed down on his finger briefly, and he was shocked at the power of it. ‘Okay. Okay, finger out, rinse off, come on, quick.’

‘But I want to...’

‘And you’re going to. Come on.’ She shut off the shower, squeezed the water out of her hair with a brisk movement, and pulled him out of the stall. Moving fast, Lin pulled thick towels off a shelf and threw them down on the floor. ‘Lie there.’ 

Still dripping wet, Bolin sat down and stretched out on his back, looking up at Lin. She grinned briefly, then knelt down beside his shoulder. ‘You are just _gorgeous,’_ she said. ‘Cock pointing to the sky there. Okay.’ She put her hands on the floor and lifted one knee, shifting to straddle his head. ‘Do you want a good look?’ Drips of warm water fell from her pubic hair onto his cheeks and chin; his whole view was filled with black hair and lush pink flesh. Hesitantly, the movement of his arms limited by her legs on either side of his body, he lifted his hands between his chest and her body and parted the hair with his fingertips, then the outer lips, thick and puffy soft. He’d never seen anything he wanted more, and he could definitely smell her, even right after washing, a kind of tangy seashore smell from between the inner folds and inside the glistening little opening they protected. 

‘Lick,’ Lin said, and pressed down on his mouth. He was startled, but obeyed her without a second thought, stroking with his tongue, the taste to go with that smell filling his mouth, her lips brushing and squashing against his, overwhelming him. She was gasping and hissing softly between her teeth; when he moved to stroke the little bump she’d shown him the gasps turned into moans and she began to grind her hips against his jaw. ‘Wait a second,’ she breathed, lifting up and shuffling back, turning her whole body around and changing her legs over, offering her wet cleft to his mouth again and lowering her head to kiss the tip of his cock. For a long moment Bolin could only pant, unbelievable pleasure blossoming wherever her mouth moved.

‘Lin!’ He grabbed her thighs, pushing his face deep into all that wet pinkness, jaw and tongue moving urgently as the blood surged in his cock. _Oh please please keep doing that I want it to feel the same way to you here let me -_ He found the bump again and lathered it with his tongue, feeling her push back, and when she moaned he felt it too, thrumming through his cock. Then her mouth was off him, the steamy air felt cold on his wet skin, and she was turning round again, scooting back on her knees, gripping his cock in one hand and guiding it up between her thighs. Her face seemed to glow as she slipped him in, lighting up with triumph and delight, and he was completely surrounded by soft slick tight hot wet, arching up into her, crying out hoarsely.

‘Cut it out.’ She pushed him down hard, his ass smacking on the wet towel, planted her hands on his chest and started to ride him, her thighs flexing as she rose up and plunged down, hips grinding around on each downstroke, her wet skin slapping on his. 

‘Oh Lin - Lin - I - if you - ah!’

‘Don’t you dare come. Count to a hundred.’

‘One - two - th-three - oh! - four...’ He was hypnotised by her bobbing breasts and the faraway ecstasy on her face. Her nails were digging into his chest, sliding in water and sweat, raising red stripes, and he could _see_ his cock disappearing into her body, red and shiny, and there was heat and suction and friction and _twenty-two twenty-three twenty-four twenty-five._

He made it to sixty-three before he came, and she still rode him, gasping, until a shudder rolled through her and she slumped down onto his chest, her body heaving. He lay there loving the weight and heat of her, the trickles of sweat between them, the sweet tiredness lapping up to envelop him. He drifted off a little.

‘Honey, if you go to sleep here you’ll catch your death of cold.’ Lin was shaking his shoulders.

‘Let’s go to bed, then.’ He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down for a kiss.

‘Uh-uh. Sorry. It’s time for you to go home, lover-boy.’

‘But...’ She put her finger on his lips before he could say more.

‘You have another lesson tomorrow. Same time. If you can lift that meteorite off the floor, who knows what’ll happen?’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A disclaimer: in the course of this chapter, Lin repeats a joke that Toph once made, which I stole from a cartoon someone drew and posted on Tumblr, because it was so perfectly in character that I couldn't resist it. I can't find the original post (Tumblr is ridiculously hard to search for one specific thing, even when you're just looking through your own reblogs), but if you recognise it and know where it is, could you please let me know so I can give proper credit?  
> Or if the cartoon was yours and you don't like me using your joke, let me know and I'll change it (although I can't come up with anything as good).  
> Also, of course, this story no longer bears any connection to series canon; it is an AU.

Lin walked him to the door, wearing her robe and slippers. As she opened the door on an afternoon already black as night, a few snowflakes whirled into the hallway. She glanced at him and seemed to notice his clothes for the first time.

‘Don’t you have a coat?’

‘Uh... no... you see, I’ve got Pabu, and he rides on my shoulders -’

‘Well that’s not good enough,’ she said briskly. ‘Let’s see.’ She opened the hall closet and rummaged through. ‘Nothing of mine willl fit round your big beefy shoulders. No, this’ll do.’ She pulled out a man’s overcoat on a hanger, heavy charcoal-grey wool.

‘Whose is this?’ Bolin asked doubtfully. 

‘I don’t really know. Sometimes I have to entertain, like it or not. Someone left this behind after the last soirée. Nobody ever came back for it, so I assume they don’t care. There, it’s yours.’ She draped it around his shoulders and slapped him on the arm.

‘Maybe I could spend the night,’ he tried, taking her hand. ‘It’s really dark out there...’

‘Nope. You’re a big strong boy. That’s why I like you. Get going, kiddo.’ He got another slap on the ass to get him moving.

The coat was thick and snug, so he could hold onto the warmth inside him. He turned up the collar to keep Pabu cosy, dug his hands into the pockets and kicked his way through the settling snow with a big stupid grin on his face. He wasn’t really thinking straight, except for a burbling refrain in his head of ‘I can’t believe I just had sex!’ The scratches on his chest prickled and itched, and he could still feel every place on his skin where Lin’s mouth had been, feel the shape of her hard nipple against his lips and tongue. He walked on a cloud for a good five blocks, before a wind-tossed newspaper slapped into him and he had to wrest it off. Front page headline: AVATAR SURVIVES ABDUCTION, with a big photo of Korra. He had to sit down, feeling like he was going to throw up.

The rest of the trip back was awful, guilt like a bucket of ice water in his stomach. He felt like a heel because the Air Acolytes had waited for him at the dock, although they’d just been hanging out in a bar keeping warm and listening to sailors’ stories. On the boat Pabu kept anxiously snuffling around his neck and ears; he could tell something was wrong. It wasn’t even just Korra; as he thought back on it he felt as if Lin had been making fun of him, as if there had been sarcasm behind every ‘honey.’ _She thinks I’m just this big dumb horndog... which I_ was _back there._

Korra was up, finally, sitting in the living room wrapped up in a blanket with Airbender kids all over her. She smiled at him, the sticking plasters on her face crinkling, and said ‘Hey, Bolin! I hear you’re Lin’s star pupil.’

‘Uh, yeah,’ he managed to say. ‘It’s good to see you looking better.’

‘I hope you realise what a privilege it is to be taken on by Lin,’ Tenzin said, prying Meelo off Korra’s back and tucking him under his arm. The bald kid squirmed out of his grip and scaled up his back to sit on his shoulders, gnawing the crown of his head. ‘She’s a remarkable woman, and one of the greatest benders alive. If she’s taken an interest in you, your future could be assured - if you’re interested in police work, that is.’

‘Gee, I really hadn’t thought about police work,’ Bolin began, and got interrupted by Ikki swinging on his sleeve. 

‘Where’d you get the snazzy coat?’ she asked.

‘Ms Beifong lent it to me,’ he said. He didn’t know why he’d called her that, as if saying ‘Lin’ would give something away. He was pretty sure she’d meant the coat as a gift, too, but now he thought he should give it back next time he saw her. Should he even go back tomorrow?

‘She’s being very generous,’ Tenzin said approvingly. ‘I’m sure you’ll show her how much you appreciate it.’

‘Absolutely,’ Bolin said hastily. ‘Listen, I’m gonna go take off my coat and wash up before dinner.’

He ate without tasting his food, and had to ask everyone to repeat everything they said to him. All he could think of was the terrible thing he’d done. He took a bath after dinner, trying to soak it away, to no avail. He’d have to hide the scratches from Mako. It felt so weird that nobody had noticed anything different about him. He wished he could talk about it to someone, but there wasn’t anyone who wasn’t affected by it, who wouldn’t be hurt or angry or disappointed in him. Well, except Pabu, but Pabu couldn’t give him advice.

He couldn’t sleep that night, his stomach aching and clenching, and in the end he got up, put on the coat and went out for a walk. The snow had stopped falling, the clouds clearing away, and the moon was huge and bone-white in the sky. He was staring at it when he heard the snow crunching behind him, and Asami stepped into view. She was muffled up in a coat over nightclothes too.

‘There’s a princess up there,’ she said. ‘She died in the last year of the Hundred Years’ War, casting the Fire Nation out of the North Pole, and ascended as a spirit.’

‘Yeah. I heard that story.’ Bolin wiped his nose on his coat sleeve. ‘It seems like there was more magic in the world, just... what, seventy years ago? Things have changed a lot.’

‘If you showed Princess Yue a telephone or a Satomobile, she might think that was magic,’ Asami said, shrugging. ‘Also, don’t forget you can magic rocks and earth around, which seems pretty amazing to a regular old person like me.’

‘Sorry,’ Bolin said, shrugging sheepishly.

‘Just another example of what I guess my father would call oblivious bender privilege,’ she said, smiling so it didn’t sting. ‘So. I’m up looking at the moon in the snow because I think my boyfriend loves someone else, and I don’t know what to say or do. What’s your story?’

‘Oh... it’s not important... and I don’t want to complain to you when you’ve got problems of your own.’

‘Come on. It would actually take my mind off it to hear about what’s worrying you. There’s something, right?’ She looked up at him quizzically. Asami looked a lot younger without her make-up on, her lips pale and her eyelids bare.

‘Do you promise you won’t tell anyone? I mean _anyone?’_

‘I promise.’ She nodded.

‘Something happened today.’

‘When you were at Chief Beifong’s?’

‘Yeah.’ Bolin pushed the toe of his boot into the snow, pushing it into a little pile. ‘I mean, we had a good lesson. She taught me a lot. But, uh, she was kind of hitting on me the whole time, and things got out of hand...’ 

‘Bolin?’ He felt Asami’s hand on his shoulder. ‘Did she get you to do something you didn’t really want to? Because it doesn’t matter that you’re a boy, that’s wrong. And it’s not your fault if she did.’

‘No, believe me, I wanted to. I was stupid. I got all excited and... well, we had sex.’ His face was burning, and he kicked his snow-pile over.

‘Wow, really?’ 

‘Yeah.’ It felt a tiny bit better to have told someone. ‘And now all I can think about is how ashamed I am.’

‘Oh, Bo.’ Her hand was still on his shoulder, and she gave it a little squeeze. ‘It’s okay. I mean, it’s a little unusual with that kind of age difference, but...’

‘I’m in love with Korra, though. At least I thought I was, but what kind of love is that? Not real love.’

‘I didn’t know you felt like that about her,’ Asami said.

‘You kidding? I’ve been crazy about her since I met her. _She_ just didn’t feel the same way. We went on a date, I thought it was awesome, we had a really good time... the next night I was on my way to give her flowers and ask her, you know, to officially be my girlfriend, and I found her kissing Mako.’ He saw Asami wince, and hurriedly added, ‘But that doesn’t have to mean anything. I mean, Mako stayed with you, right?’

‘What a surprise,’ Asami said bitterly. ‘Given that my dad was sponsoring you.’

‘But he started going out with you before any of that, right? And listen, I know he’s acting all weird about Korra, but when I talked with him about her, he said he thought she wasn’t really girlfriend material.’

‘Well, what is _that_ supposed to mean?’

‘I don’t get it either. Korra’s great. She’s _amazing._ Smart, strong, beautiful - and you know what? So are you. You’re a really cool girl, and he needs to get his head out of his ass and appreciate you.’

‘I’m afraid _now_ he’s just staying with me because, with what happened with my father, he feels sorry for me. He wants to be free to be with Korra, b-but...’ Her pale face crumpled, and she began to cry.

‘Oh, no, Asami...’ Bolin gathered her into his arms and hugged her tight. ‘C’mon, it’s not like that, he wouldn’t do that to you. He has to know how lucky he is that you like him.’

‘I huh-hate feeling like this!’ Asami wailed. ‘I hate how he can do this to me and he doesn’t even know or care!’ She shook her head, her hair tickling his face.

‘You need to tell him,’ Bolin said. ‘Tell him you need to know how he really feels. And if he won’t give you a straight answer, I’ll kick his ass for you.’

‘And I hate feeling like such a _wimp,_ because I’m scared to ask him, in case he _does_ say he wants Korra, and then I’ve got no-one.’ It was hard to understand her through all the sobs.

‘You’d have me. I’ll be your friend. Pabu too, okay? Don’t cry. Your face will freeze out here.’ Gradually he managed to soothe her down, until she was just sniffing and hiccupping.

‘I’m sorry,’ Asami said, wiping her face with her hands. ‘I asked to hear about your problem and I just ranted about my own.’

‘It’s all okay. Come on, let’s go and get a hot drink or something.’

They crept into the kitchen, where Bolin managed to get a stove burner going to heat up a pan of milk. They made cocoa and sat warming their hands around the hot mugs, Asami still sniffing from time to time.

‘You know,’ she said after a while, ‘this could be a good thing for you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Lin. You could get over Korra. Wouldn’t that be good? I mean, if she doesn’t feel the same about you...’

‘But if I just give up...’

‘I think it’s better to be with someone who definitely wants to be with you, even if it’s not your ideal, than to wait around for someone who might never come round.’

‘I don’t even know if Lin “wants to be with me”,’ Bolin objected. ‘She kind of kicked me out after we were done. Though she did tell me to come back tomorrow...’

‘Maybe you need to ask _her_ how she feels. I can’t promise to kick her ass, though.’

‘I never, ever thought I’d have a problem like this.’ Bolin took a swig of his cocoa.

‘Really? You, with all the pro bending groupies?’

‘I was never one of _those_ guys. Exploiting your fans is gross.’

‘No. You really are sweet. Maybe that’s what Lin likes about you.’

‘I... kind of think she just really likes my body,’ he admitted, trying to smile and failing. ‘Which... isn’t a bad thing, just...’

‘Come on, I bet she likes your personality too.’

‘No, she actually said “you’re a big strong boy, that’s why I like you”.’

‘Well, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know how she said it, but she might have been kidding.’ Asami shrugged, and reached over to pat his hand. ‘There are a lot of things about you to like.’

‘Thanks. You too.’ He smiled at her, properly.

‘Listen. Tomorrow, I’m going to pull myself together and talk to Mako. Ask him what he actually wants and where this relationship is going. You should do the same with Lin. Then we’ll have midnight cocoa again and talk about how it went. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘Pinkie promise, to make it legally binding. That way neither of us can chicken out.’ Asami held out her little finger, and hooked it into his.

‘Promise.’

After that, he was able to get to sleep, Pabu curled up on his pillow. It didn’t help his state of mind that he dreamed he was in bed with Lin, naked and wet, and she was riding him, but she kept changing into Korra and back again. At one point she was Asami too, and then she turned into the picture of the moon princess he’d seen in a book once and that was just weird. He woke up sticky, but not feeling too bad.

He filled in the morning going on a run around the island and practising some of the earthbending forms Lin had taught him. Whether he was going to have some kind of affair with her or not, he seemed to have realised during the night that he really did want to learn from her, and if he could, to get the hang of metalbending. He couldn’t tell if she would still want to teach him either way. Maybe he would end up figuring out the rest on his own. If he could separate out the memory of that vein running through the meteorite, independent of what his own veins had been doing at the time, it had been kind of intriguing.

And there was what Tenzin had said - police work? It had never even vaguely occurred to him that he could be a cop. Street kids surely didn’t do that. Except why not? He had been chased by the cops a few times, when he’d been somewhere he shouldn’t have been, or hanging out with the wrong people, but he’d never been arrested or charged with anything until this week, and that had been bullcrap, so it shouldn’t count against him. He actually really liked the idea of himself in one of those slick black uniforms, locking up bad guys (real bad guys, not people in the wrong place at the wrong time) and protecting the community and stuff. You couldn’t pro bend forever; sooner or later the injuries would catch up with you. He’d like to talk it over with Mako, but he didn’t want to interrupt in case Asami was trying to have their big talk.

He headed out before noon, wrapped up in the borrowed coat, Pabu acting as fur collar, and treated himself to Water Tribe noodles for lunch and a snoop around the shops. At two sharp he presented himself at Lin’s door and was let in by the maid, who hung the coat in the hall closet. In the gym, Lin was on the floor stretching, her legs out in front of her with about ninety degrees in between them, bending her upper body low and reaching out past her toe on alternate sides. When he came in, she straightened up and leaned back on her hands, looking up at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read. Smiling or smug?

‘You know the drill now,’ she said, getting up and dusting off the seat of her pants. 

‘Gotcha. Shirt, shoes.’ Bolin headed over to the bench to drop his bag and make a nest for Pabu. He was acutely aware of Lin watching him, wondering when she was going to make a move. It suddenly occurred to him that any time he’d seen some kind of ‘older woman seducing a younger man’ scenario, in a book or a movie, the woman would have been all dolled up and elegant, in a slinky dress and heavy make-up. Lin had decided to seduce him in her workout clothes, with dirty bare feet and sweaty hair. That was actually pretty damn hot as far as he was concerned.

‘We’re going to start with stretching. Work on your flexibility. That’s definitely a weak spot; you’re in danger of getting musclebound.’

‘Is flexibility important?’ Bolin asked, crossing the floor to join her. ‘I mean, for earthbending, it’s all about strength and stability, right?’

‘For old-school earthbending, you would be exactly right. For metalbending, it’s different. Some metals are almost as unyielding as rock, but others are highly flexible and ductile, almost fluid. One reason I thought you could probably metalbend is the way you move. You’re strong and solid, but there’s a lightness there too. In metalbending we actually use some techniques adapted from waterbending and even a little bit of airbending. Liquid metal, flying on wires. When I was a kid, I’d sit and watch my mother brainstorming these things with Avatar Aang and Katara. She never stopped developing and refining her techniques. I can do maybe half, on a good day two thirds of what she could do. But you didn’t come here to hear a lecture on bending history.’

‘Hey, I thought it was interesting,’ Bolin said, shrugging. ‘I mean, you grew up with legends. You must have some great stories.’ He hesitated, then added ‘I’d like to know more about you.’

‘Well, maybe you will,’ Lin said, quirking her eyebrow. ‘But now we’re stretching.’

She started him off slowly, but soon her requirements became truly brutal. Bolin, red in the face, sweating buckets, started to complain.

‘This is inhumane,’ he protested. ‘I’m not made of metal or water. This is human tissue we’re talking about.’

‘Then I’ll help you,’ Lin said, and started pushing and pulling him around. It was kind of agonising, but she had her hands all over him again, so it felt good too. When he yelped or groaned she would laugh and call him a wuss.

‘Anyway... you like it,’ she said, through a tight grin. She had him on his back, one leg up, knee almost on his chest, stretching his hamstring away to hell and gone.

‘I don’t _not_ like it,’ he admitted. ‘Um. Lin?’ It was hard to breathe, and his voice went squeaky. ‘Whatkindofrelationshipdoyouseeushaving?’

‘A mutually beneficial one.’ Lin grunted softly as she pushed him a little further, running her hand down the front of his thigh.

‘I... I mean, do you... would.. _ungh..._ do you want to be my girlfriend?’ The last word sounded like a mouse said it.

He saw a flicker of surprise before her smile broadened. ‘No, honeybun, I don’t want to be your girlfriend. I’m your teacher.’

‘Teachers don’t... don’t usually touch you down there.’

‘Hmm. Okay, I’m not your teacher all the time. But I really don’t think I’m girlfriend material. Other side now.’ She let his leg down and lifted the other. ‘Here’s the thing, Bolin. What happens in here happens on my terms. If you don’t like it, you’re free to leave. If you want metalbending coaching from someone else, I can arrange that. You won’t lose out.’

‘No, I don’t... I don’t want to go, I... ow! I just mean what do you want? How do you want it to be?’

‘Mmmm... I want to enjoy spending some time with you, and teaching you a thing or two. I don’t want you to ask me a lot of questions. Does that fit okay with what you want?’

‘I... I think it’s okay...’ She let him put his leg down, and he sighed with relief. Lin crept up over his body, hands and knees on either side, and looked down at his face. 

‘You’re so cute,’ she said, ‘and I really want to have the fun of breaking you in.’

‘Is that all? I mean, do you really think I’ve got potential for metalbending?’

‘Wouldn’t waste my time if I didn’t.’ She let herself down on her elbows and kissed him, slow and deep. ‘Kid, what the _hell_ did you have for lunch?’

‘Stewed sea prunes and kelp noodles.’

‘You taste like a squid died in your mouth.’ She made a face, sticking her tongue out.

‘Want me to brush my teeth?’

‘Not yet.’ She bounced up and offered him her hand. ‘Get up. You’re moving the space rock again.’

‘Okay...’ Bolin got to his feet, not sure his poor stretched-out legs could support him, and dusted off his ass while Lin pulled the meteorite over to them. ‘Man, you make it look easy.’

‘It is easy when you’ve learned how. Want me to help you like yesterday?’

‘Uh, I think maybe I could do it better without the distraction.’

‘Distraction?’ She arched her eyebrow at him.

‘Yeah, a sexy lady grabbing your ass is kind of distracting.’ He felt a little daring saying that, and darted his eyes over to see how she took it. The eyebrow stayed up, but the corner of her mouth went up to match. ‘Hokay. Here I go.’ He got into position, planted his feet firmly in the ground and his hands firmly on the cold iron of the meteorite.

‘Tuck your tail in,’ Lin reminded him, walking around behind to check his form. ‘I like your chunky ass but you shove it out too far.’

‘It’s a counterweight, okay?’ Bolin adjusted his posture and took a deep, slow breath, in and out. He closed his eyes and concentrated on what he could feel. Warm, gritty dirt under his feet, between his toes. Cold, rough iron against his palms. Sweat under his arms and down his back and in his groin. Thigh muscles hot and tingling. _Okay... now out of what you can feel in your body, into what you can feel in the rock. Where’s that vein... there. There... and I can bend that._

He rolled it forward, then back, getting the feel of it, the weight of it. He gathered his energy, took a fresh deep breath, and with a deep grunt, pulled it _up_ and over his head. Lin gave him a slow clap until he dumped it down again.

‘Not bad at all,’ she said, and slapped him on the back. Bolin wiped the sweat off his brow with his forearm and grinned, feeling exhilarated.

‘Okay. Now let me show you something neat.’ Lin thrust her fingers into the meteorite, clutched, twisted, and tore out a chunk of iron. ‘This, by the way, is something every student of metalbending gets. You need something to practise with no matter where you are. Watch.’ As he stared, she hovered the chunk between her hands and formed it into a smooth, spinning ball. ‘This move is borrowed from airbending.’

‘You are _amazing,’_ Bolin said earnestly, bending forward with his hands on his knees  to get a better look.

‘Yeah? You like that? Look.’ In quick succession, she formed a star, a fish, a turtle-duck. Last, the iron formed a spinning ring. ‘Hold out your hand.’ He obeyed, and she opened out her hands, the metal ring expanding, getting thinner. She slid it over his hand to his wrist, then closed it in. It shrank and thickened snugly to the form of his wrist. ‘This piece is yours. Keep it and work with it. I recommend you start by figuring out how to take it off.’

‘Cool!’ Bolin twisted his wrist around, examining the bracelet. ‘Hey, thank you so much!’

‘My mother made the first of these,’ Lin said, nodding in acknowledgement. ‘Iron given to her by Sokka. You remind me of him sometimes.’

‘Sokka? _The_ Sokka? The strategist, the inventor, submarines, telephones, department stores? Well! I thought you just dug my cute face and hot body, but now I see you were drawn to my intellect too!’

‘Sokka was a goofball. Some of my earliest memories are of him making terrible jokes and just about peeing his pants with excitement over whatever he thought was _cool.’_ Something he was learning about Lin: often, she only smiled with her eyes. You’d miss it if you didn’t know.

‘Yeah? So you’re telling me a goofball can be a great man.’ He struck a dramatic pose, hand splayed over the bracelet like a conjurer, glaring at it with his eyebrows up and his lips pursed. ‘Bennnnnnd...’ He was clowning for her, but he found he could make the iron twitch a little. ‘Hah? Haaah?’ He waggled his eyebrows at Lin. Her lips twitched and she looked away. ‘Hey, I think I can actually make this...’ He got a little ripple going through the iron. ‘I think I get it, I think I get it - I have to work it with my wrist inside it, not just my other hand, right?’

‘You’re catching on.’ She nodded slowly. 

‘Thanks. Do I get another kiss?’

‘I actually would like you to clean your teeth. I don’t share your taste for sea prunes.’

‘I think it’s just because they’re so astringent, I mean they really make your mouth pucker. Some people don’t like that.’

‘Some people don’t like the way they trigger your gag reflex, either. I’m going to take a bath. You can join me once you’ve got that bracelet off - and you’ve brushed.’ She tweaked his nose and sauntered away.

‘Uhhh...’ Bolin looked over at Pabu, who flicked his ears at him. ‘Okay. I think I can work this out.’ He sat down cross-legged and examined the bracelet again, feeling it carefully all over. He flexed his wrist and felt it yield slightly. ‘What we want,’ he told Pabu, ‘is to make the whole thing bigger and thinner, so I can slip it over my hand. Or maybe we can make a little gap in one side, enough to pull it off like a cuff.’ Pabu jumped down from the bench and came over to supervise, sniffing at the bracelet, and Bolin scratched him behind the ears, absent-mindedly. ‘Keep quiet now, buddy. I have to concentrate.’

It was fifteen minutes before he padded into the bathroom, where Lin was soaking in a deep tub of green-tinted water, and held up the bracelet.

‘About time,’ she said. ‘Don’t forget to brush. There’s a spare by the sink.’

‘Yes ma’am. For you, I’ll even scrub my tongue.’

‘Don’t make yourself sick.’

‘This is all just part of the service.’ He cleaned his teeth vigorously, spat in the sink and rinsed his mouth. He could feel her watching him, and wondered if he should be putting on a show. He couldn’t really think how sexy tooth-brushing ought to look, though.

‘Okay. Clothes off,’ Lin said. ‘You’re not a stripper - just take them off like a normal person.’

‘No, I always swing my shirt around over my head when I get undressed at home. Then I do a little shimmy like this. Unf!’

‘Stop horsing around and get in the bath.’

‘My feet are pretty dirty, though,’ he said, dropping his shorts. She just snapped her fingers at him and pointed to the water opposite her. It turned out to be so hot he had to lower himself in by degrees, wincing.

‘Show me the bracelet.’ She held out her hand once he was sitting down, and he passed it over. She examined it critically. ‘I’ve had students turn in bracelets they broke or cut. You did a decent job, though. Put it back on.’ She passed it back.

‘It was hard enough getting it off,’ he complained, but with some effort he managed to stretch it around his fingers far enough to get it over his hand. 

‘Keep it on you and practise every chance you get. When it gets easy to take it on and off, start working it into a ball. That’s my last instruction as teacher today.’

‘Maybe I should’ve been calling you Sifu Lin. You sure you don’t care about the dirt?’

‘It’s clean dirt. You just missed your cue.’

‘Cue? Oh!’ He shifted onto his knees and shuffled towards her with a splash. ‘Duh.’ He kissed her, feeling his way back into it. Her face was all dewy and he could smell the sweat in her hair. He thought he was developing kind of a thing for that smell. He felt her push her fingers into his hair, her nails tingling his scalp, and she nipped his lower lip.

‘That’s better.’ Hands travelling down the nape of his neck, his back, gripping his buttocks, and a little ‘mmm’ sound passing between their mouths. Lin shifted her hands to his chest, stroking the tender scratches. ‘I messed you up a little, didn’t I? Can’t say I’m sorry.’ She pinched his nipples, hard, making him grunt. ‘These are _fun._ But I think the best fun’s down here.’ Her hand curled around his cock and glided along its length. She gave him a quick, wonderful squeeze and rub before letting go.

‘I think I will take you to bed today, if only because the bath’s a really uncomfortable place to fuck. Come on.’ She pushed him back and got up, the water running in streams down her body. He tried to follow her, but got a head rush and had to sit back down for a moment, hazily watching her towel herself off. None of it was done with an eye to displaying herself to him, as far as he could tell; she was just drying herself and he could see her. He liked that, too. Her bruises didn’t look quite so bad today.

‘We could go on the floor again,’ he suggested, making it out of the bath on the second try.

‘No thanks,’ she said, throwing him a dry towel. ‘Killed my knees. I was just too horny to notice at the time. Just wrap it round your waist - come on, I don’t care if you drip on the carpet.’ She dragged him by the arm through another door, up a flight of stairs and through to her bedroom. As soon as the door slammed she yanked the towel off him, dropped hers and threw her arms round him, kissing him so hard his lips stung, pressing her small breasts flat against his chest. There was no time to look around before she shoved him down on the bed and climbed on, mounting him and pumping her hips feverishly. All he could do was hold onto her thighs and try to match her pace. The pleasure was so hot and fierce and sudden that he couldn’t hold on; he came humiliatingly quickly. 

‘Damn you!’ Lin slapped his stomach and lifted up on her knees, rubbing herself frantically with two stiff fingers. 

‘Let me help.’

‘Here - oh - oh yes - faster - ahn!’ She slumped down onto his body, breathing heavily, a wet smear between their bellies and thighs. ‘Ohh...’ Eventually she was still, and lifted her head, brushing back a wave of hair stuck to her cheek. ‘Okay. Hitting you then was uncalled for. It’s not your fault you’ve got a hair trigger, you’re sixteen.’

‘I tried, but you were going really fast.’

‘I’ll help you with that. Did it feel good till I started beating up on you?’

‘Of course it did. And it’s not like you hurt me. It was just a little smack.’

‘Aw, you’re tough,’ she said, and he couldn’t decide whether she was making fun of his bravado, but she kissed him, so it must have been all right. ‘Okay.’ Lin rolled onto her back and sat up. ‘I have to pee, but I’ll be back in a minute. You can get comfortable. I’m not throwing you out yet.’

‘Oh. Thanks?’ He pushed himself up on his elbows and watched her leave. It was sort of mind-boggling to him that he just got to see a real live naked woman walking around at close quarters, completely unconcerned about him watching her. He wondered if she would like it if he complimented her ass or if that was just superfluous. Well, she was in the bathroom now, so he pulled down the covers and got in the bed, sitting up against the pillows and taking a good look around the room. Lin’s room was sparely furnished, with just a few decorative items - a small photo portrait of herself with her mother, both in uniform looking stern and badass, a glazed pottery winged boar that was probably some kind of family heirloom, and a really weird framed painting. He was staring at that when she came back and slung herself down on the bed beside him.

‘I know you said you didn’t want me to ask you questions, but - did you ever have a kid?’

‘What? No, and I’ve never wanted to.’ She gave him a slightly disturbed sidelong look.

‘Then did a friend’s kid do that painting for you?’

Lin looked where he was pointing, and smirked, relaxing. ‘No, a forty-year-old man did that painting. That’s by Sokka. He based it on what I told him I was going to be and do when I grew up. So I keep it to remind me of my plans and dreams. Not all of them were realistic - you’ll notice I’m a Kyoshi Warrior _and_ a metalbender _and_ a fairy - but the general theme of taking no guff from anybody and fighting to uphold the right and true prevailed.’

‘I think you would make a great fairy,’ Bolin said gallantly. ‘Are you... punching an owl in the face?’

‘I’m punching _something_ in what’s _probably_ its face. It’s... impressionistic.’

‘I think it’s Evil. You know. If Evil had a face you could punch. Um.’ He tried putting his arm around her waist. She looked at his arm as if it was pretty funny, but leaned into him comfortably, folding her arms behind her head. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I’m just curious about you.’

‘Ugh... okay. Just don’t make a habit of it.’

‘What are we going to talk about, though?’

‘I didn’t really pick you for conversation. No offence, I’m sure you make great conversation, but... all right, I’m going to end up explaining this anyway. You’ll like this. It’s about me.’ She sat up, drawing up her knees and resting her elbows on them. ‘You may have noticed things have been _stressful_ lately. And I’m... me. An evil-puncher, if you will. I chose this career, and this life, and I don’t regret it, but it is _hard._ I get exhausted, and I get... lonely. So I want you to give me a break from being _me._ I don’t want to talk about myself, or you. I want us to fuck, and then sleep the way you only can when you’re completely fucked out. I picked you because you’re sweet and hot and easy to be with, and the way you squirmed when I zipped you up turned me on. That’s all. Is that okay?’

Bolin knew she needed an answer before too long, but there was so much to think about in that explanation that he felt swamped. He wasn’t sure if this mean he’d be exploiting her or she’d be exploiting him. You couldn’t have mutual exploitation, could you? Did they cancel each other out and become a fair arrangement? And then there was the fact that he was in bed with her, and he wanted to stay there, to kiss her and touch her and see and taste and feel all of her, sink his fingers and his cock into that wet warmth again. ‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘If we’re telling the truth, I’m kind of... on the rebound, and... I just want to be with someone who wants to be with me.’ Asami’s words seemed to fit.

‘Good.’ Lin uncurled her body and stretched out beside him again. Her gaze travelled up and down his body, half covered by the bedclothes. ‘Now why did you cover up?’

‘Keeping warm?’

‘Nope.’ She pulled down the covers and rolled over to sit astride his legs. ‘Give me your bracelet.’ She spun it around her fingers, showing off a little. ‘This will feel weird at first, but trust me, it’ll help.’

‘Help what? Ah! Cold! Why does that need to go on my dick?’

‘Round under your balls, too. Don’t worry, it’ll warm up. The point is, it’s going to help you stay hard and come later. Which helps me, obviously, but is also going to feel even better for you.’ She leaned in and murmured next to his ear, ‘You’re blushing.’ Her teeth closed on his earlobe, and he shivered, the sensation building to a squirm as she ran her hot tongue down the side of his neck. She lifted herself on her arms to look down at him.

‘You have cat eyes,' he murmured.

‘Oh?’

‘They’re really beautiful.’ He reached up, brushing her hair back from her cheek.

‘Aw. Prr.’ There was that eye-smile again. ‘That must be why I scratched you, right?’ She bent to lick the crooked red lines on his chest, looking up at him teasingly. He bit his lip, half-smiling himself. ‘Or maybe I’m just mean.’

‘I bet that’s it.’

‘I’m glad you get it.’ Lin eased herself down on top of him again, her thighs either side of his and the slight prickling of her pubic hair resting on his stomach, and kissed him slowly, her tongue moving lazily against his. Her legs moved, too, gently rubbing, sleek and strong. Bolin laid his hands tentatively on her back, felt the smooth movement of her muscles as she lifted her arms to wrap around his shoulders. He stroked up and down as his cock thickened, a rush of excitement fizzing through him.

‘Lin...’

‘Yeah?’

‘Lin-lin-lin.’ He squeezed her tight and rubbed his nose against hers.

‘Idiot.’

‘Lin-lin- _lin_ -lin.’ He rolled them over together, laughing. She shoved back and they wrestled briefly before she managed to pin him again and sat up triumphantly, slapping his chest.

‘Are you scared to fight me properly because I’m a _girl?_ I hope you like getting your ass kicked.’

‘By you, maybe. Especially if you bounce on me like that.’

‘You’re getting nice and hard again,’ she said, reaching behind her to stroke him.

‘The ring feels really weird.’

‘Don’t be a baby.’ Lin lifted up on her knees and shuffled back to rest on his thighs, holding his cock in her hand in front of her, rubbing it up and down. ‘Just think how much I’ll enjoy this.’

‘I think it’s too tight...’

‘It’s a good fit. Listen, if it hurts, or it feels cold, or numb, tell me and I’ll take it straight off. But if it just feels tight and your cock feels really hot and full, it’s doing its job. And aren’t you feeling good?’ Her stroking hand and her teasing smile were both making his heart thump.

‘Heck yes. You?’

‘I’m getting there.’

‘Can I...’

‘Here.’ She rolled onto her side, bringing him with her, and took his reaching hand, guiding it between her legs. ‘Mmm... just there... gently. I’ll let you know when I want it harder.’

‘It’s so _soft.’_ He kissed her again, comparing lips with lips. ‘Good?’

‘Mmm.’ There was a little catch in her breathing, and she shifted against his hand, slick moisture coating his fingers as he reached into her. ‘Work on my clit... that’s right... little circle... ah...’

‘Lin...’

‘Little harder.’ Her eyes closed briefly, and she caught her breath. ‘Little faster... oh... you’ve got thick fingers but they’re so _quick...’_

‘Lin... can I...’ He was totally fascinated by this, the way it felt, the smooth soft folds, the tiny wet smacking, lapping sounds when he moved his fingers. ‘Hey, what do you call this?’

‘What do you mean?’ There was a little rumble of laughter in her low voice.

‘What do _you_ call _this?_ Cause there are lots of different words. I wanna use the one you like.’

‘You are _such_ a little _gentleman._ Okay, you know clit... where you have your fingers now, that’s my cunt.’

‘Really?’ He’d only ever heard people using that word as a really low insult; it was kind of shocking to hear her say it.

‘Well, if you think that sounds mean or ugly you can cute it up a little and say cunny. Cunt’s okay with me, though. Don’t stop. There. Ohh...’ Her hips twitched and the corners of her mouth curled. ‘Come on.’ She pushed him onto his back and straddled him again, bringing his cock into line with one hand, rubbing the head of it against her clitoris, biting her lower lip in concentration and delight. ‘And now...’ He was slipping into the sweet hot wet, it was swallowing him, her weight was on him and her muscles were gripping him inside and out. She arched her back and her face lit up once again with a fierce joy. ‘Okay, honeybun, I think you’ll be able to keep up this time. Don’t pump yet, just rock.’

‘Oh man...’ He lifted his knees and dug his heels into the mattress, held onto her hips as they rolled. ‘Lin...’

‘You like that?’

‘ _Yes_ I _like_ that.’

‘Dumb question, right?’ A quick, breathless laugh, and she flicked her head back, getting her tangled hair off her face. ‘Oh, you sweet boy... _good_ boy... _so_ hot...’

‘Aah...’

‘Just rock, rock...’ She put one hand behind her, holding the back of his thigh as she arched again. ‘Ohhh... ohh... yes... you’re really feeling it now, right? _So_ hard, _so_ full... okay, pump now, _fuck_ me now. Yes! Yes, go!’ She rose and fell on her knees, her breasts bouncing, shining all over with sweat, and Bolin gritted his teeth and thrust up into her, losing himself in it, his voice breaking as he cried out. He thought he was going to come on every stroke, but it didn’t end, and she was so _beautiful,_ and even if he couldn’t feel the moment when she came he saw it in her face like a firework bursting in the sky. She was slowing down, easing herself down on his belly, but he still wanted to fuck as if his life depended on it. 

‘Okay... roll over... you can be on top now...’ So now she was under him, her legs wrapped round his hips and holding him tight, she was wrapped all around him everywhere and he was lost inside her. He’d thought she must be finished but she was working against him and gasping, her body was so damn strong, her nails were digging into his buttocks, and her fingers twitched and the ring moved under his balls, not loosening but thinning, it - what? - it stuck out kind of a little _finger_ that pushed in hard all along the cleft to his butt, and that took him right over in a huge glorious burst.

He lay in her arms feeling weak as a baby, glued to her with sweat and come, panting, so utterly happy all the way through his body that he couldn’t possibly move. He felt the ring go loose, which was a huge relief. Lin was stroking his back with her fingertips. 

‘In case you’re keeping a sort of... personal achievement scorecard... you just made me come twice,’ she murmured. 

‘Really?’

‘Mm.’

‘Wow.’ He paused, getting enough breath to make a sentence. ‘Can I go to sleep here?’

‘Yeah... yeah, I think I will too.’ She nudged him onto his side, keeping one leg slung over his hip. Their breathing slowed, bit by bit, and her cat-eyes fluttered closed. 

 

Bolin woke not knowing quite where he was. He’d rolled over in his sleep and Lin was spooned up to his back. He wasn’t sure whether he’d woken up because he was cold or because he was bursting to pee. Both were true. Or maybe because he could hear scratching outside the bedroom door? He eased himself out from under her arm, trying not to disturb her, and padded over to the door, which he cracked open a little. Pabu wiggled in through the gap and leaped up onto his arm, making an indignant soft chattering. 

‘I’m sorry I forgot about you,’ he whispered. ‘Some _major_ stuff was happening. Keep quiet, okay buddy? Lin’s sleeping. Come on, I’m going to the bathroom.’ After a very long and much-needed pee, he washed his hands and crept back to bed, pulling the quilt up over himself and Lin. She was still sleeping deeply, but nestled back up to him once he was lying down. Pabu curled up on the pillow by his head, and he lay there feeling the space under the covers grow warm, feeling Lin’s light, even breathing against his back. He was definitely feeling like a _man_ here, maybe _the_ man. That was nice; that was _very_ nice. 

He still had no idea if he was doing the right thing. There was still that scared, ashamed part that kept thinking he was ruining any chance he had to be with Korra. That she would be hurt or shocked if she knew. Or, of course, and this was scary too, that she might be shocked that he got together with a woman like three times his age, but wouldn’t be _hurt_ for herself; wouldn’t care for herself. He rolled over and looked at Lin, her sleeping face soft and relaxed. There were little creases at the corners of her eyes, between her brows, lines from the flanks of her nose to the corners of her mouth. They weren’t heavy, she really had great skin, but they were there. And there were those two straight pink scars on her cheek, down to her jaw. He traced them with his fingertips, as lightly as he possibly could, but her eyelids flickered and he took his hand back quickly.

A moment later, Lin’s eyes blinked open. She gazed at him drowsily, her defences apparently down. ‘Hey,’ she said, and stretched. 

‘Hey...’

‘You’re so pretty.’

‘Me? I thought I should tell _you.’_

‘Maybe pull your face back from mine a _little_ bit,’ she said, eye-smiling. The next moment she felt Pabu’s nose and whiskers against the top of her head and sat up abruptly, staring. ‘What the hell is he doing in here?’

‘I let him in. He was scratching on the door. Sorry.’

‘It’s okay. I’m just not used to... pets in my room.’ She looked at Pabu warily. 

‘Other than me?’

‘Can’t say I’m _used_ to you, either. Hello... Pooba?’

‘It’s Pabu. Listen, he’s really smart. Shake hands, Pabu.’ Pabu sat up on his hindquarters and offered one paw, which Lin accepted doubtfully. ‘Good boy! Clever boy! Okay, high-five, high-five. Attaboy!’ He patted his own hand against Pabu’s raised paw. 

‘Actually, I think I remember your little pre-game show at the pro-bending arena.’

‘Wasn’t he _great?’_

‘I had my mind on other things, honeybun.’

‘Well, he was a hero that night. Saved me and the others when we were tied up. He’s the best little boy, yes he is.’ He gathered Pabu into his arms and kissed the top of his head, then chattered at him. 

‘You are _so_ weird,’ Lin said, but she scratched behind Pabu’s ear.

‘You were a hero that night too,’ he said, a little hesitantly. 

Lin looked at him blankly for a moment, then laughed. ‘You don’t want me to feel left out of the praise, huh? I failed that night, but thank you.’

‘Come on, Lin, you didn’t fail.’ He touched her shoulder. Suddenly he was very aware of those fading bruises. ‘You don’t fail until you give up, right?’

‘C’mere.’ She got her hand behind his head, fingers clutched in his hair, and kissed him roughly. Pabu wriggled out from between them and scampered off the bed, thumping down on the floor. 

‘Lin -’ He couldn’t make it to the next word before she pushed him down and pinned him, biting his lower lip. 

‘Shut up, honey. Your job is to fuck me.’ She reached for his cock and jerked it.

‘Lin - no, cut it out. Cut it _out.’_ He got his arm up between them and pushed on her chest. She stopped, let go of him, but her face was working, the corners of her mouth downturned and twitching. Her eyes welled up and she flopped over beside him, burying her face in the pillow. He could hear her breathing unevenly, and her shoulders shook. ‘It’s okay,’ he whispered. ‘Come on, don’t cry.’

‘I _don’t_ cry,’ she said, muffled. ‘I don’t cry! I’m premenstrual or something. Or fucking menopausal, I don’t know, fuck knows how long I’ve got.’

‘It’s okay. It really is.’ He rubbed a little circle between her shoulderblades. ‘You are so incredibly brave and strong... you’re awesome. People like you, and Korra, are going to get us through this whole thing.’

‘You think _I’m_ like _Korra?’_ Lin asked, lifting her head and looking at him disbelievingly. 

‘In that you’re both awesome, and I believe in you, sure.’

‘How do you do that?’ Lin asked. 

‘Believe in you?’

‘Just keep being completely sweet, no matter what. Right now you should be mad at me. I was acting like an asshole.’

‘I’d be mad if you ever did that _again,_ but I’ll give you a pass this time because you’re upset,’ he said, shrugging. ‘I don’t really get mad easily.’

Lin wiped tears off her face with the heel of her hand and sniffed hard. ‘Well, I’m sorry.’

‘Thanks. You need a glass of water? A handkerchief?’ He pushed her hair back from her face, carefully. It was a crazy tangle by now, a storm cloud around her head.

‘I’ll be okay.’ She propped herself up on her elbows. ‘Listen. How about I offer you some compensation. You can ask me something about myself, okay? I’ll try and give you an honest answer.’

‘Anything? Any no-go areas?’ Bolin settled himself beside her, his head resting on one arm, his feet touching hers. 

‘I’ll tell you if you get into one. Go on and ask something before I change my mind.’

‘Okay.’ He touched her face, lightly. ‘What happened there?’

‘Oh, that.’ She made a brief grimace. ‘That happened when I was developing the newer style of metalbending gear for police use. The spools of wire. I was testing the prototype, and some part of it wasn’t strong enough. Two wires broke under high tension and snapped back, snapped me in the face. I was lucky it wasn’t worse; a little higher up and I could have lost an eye.’ She fingered the scars thoughtfully. ‘Then, when they healed up and I could see how bad the scar was going to be, I started talking about finding a healer who could get rid of it. My mother smirked and said “Why bother? You look fine to me.” Oh, I was furious with her! All her snide little blind jokes! I screamed at her, and slammed off into the bathroom. That was where I always hid out when we fought. I saw myself in the mirror. My face was all red and distorted, and the scars were glaring... I looked _scary._ And I thought... I can use that. You guys can stay.’ She shrugged. 

‘That’s... hard core.’

‘Scars can help you get respect,’ she said. ‘Remember, I had a lot to prove. I was Toph Beifong’s daughter. And I _knew_ I wasn’t quite as good as her. That just meant I had to work harder.’

‘Can I ask you another thing?’

‘Yeah...’

‘This might be important. Because earlier, you said you hadn’t ever wanted to have kids? And I just kind of thought, we haven’t used any kind of protection... and I don’t want to mess that up for you...’

‘No, honey, that’s okay.’

‘Are you really sure?’

‘It’s not just that I don’t want to. I actually can’t. My womb isn’t formed quite right; I found out in my teens. It was kind of a relief, because I already knew I wasn’t interested in being a mother, and it meant I didn’t have to get into a debate with people about why. I could just say no, I can’t. People can be so smug, though, so sure they know better than you what you want. You’ll change your mind, they’d say. But what about adoption, they’d say. Maybe there’s a cure, have you tried at the North Pole? Things like that.’

‘Oh, okay.’ 

‘That’s all? Oh, okay?’

‘Well, you know, if that’s how you feel, you know best, right? And it’s a relief for me too, because I sure don’t want to be a dad at sixteen. No, wait.’ He counted on his fingers. ‘I’d be seventeen by then. But the point stands.’

Lin started to laugh, not making much sound but her shoulders shaking. ‘It does, doesn’t it.’ She tipped her head to one side. ‘I bet you do want to be a dad one day, though.’

‘Well, yeah.’

‘I think you’ll be good.’ She sat up and tried to finger-comb her hair, but her fingers got snagged. ‘Ugh...’ 

‘I can brush that for you.’

‘You _want_ to sit around and brush my hair? Where did you _come_ from?’

‘Uh... downtown?’ Bolin pointed vaguely in the right direction. ‘I mean, _today_ I came from Air Temple Island...’

‘I mean... I thought you were going to be... well, clearly not.’ She shook her head. ‘More of a _boy._ Ready to leave once you got what you wanted.’

‘That sounds like a jerk, not a boy, if you don’t mind my saying.’

'Okay, then.' She gestured and a silver-backed hairbrush from her dressing table landed in her hand. 'Brush my hair.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small part of this chapter depends on a personal headcanon that, as well as inventing things (I assumed telephones because of his fascination and disappointment with messenger hawks) and going into politics, Sokka opened Republic City's first department store, and called it Boomerangs.  
> (Repeat business is important - he wanted customers to come back.)  
> I kind of brought this to an end in a hurry. I want to make up a different story following Asami (not in the same continuity), but I wanted some kind of conclusion on this thing first.

It was full night by the time Bolin got back to Air Temple Island, and most people were settling down to sleep. He floated in on a cloud of post-coital contentment and found Asami lying on the matting in the family’s living room, looking glumly through a magazine. 

‘Hey,’ he said, plumping down beside her. ‘How’d you go today?’

‘Well, Mako pretty much doesn’t want to admit that there’s a problem. He tried to blame _you_ for _telling me_ he kissed Korra. I don’t know if it’s even worth it.’

‘I’m sorry.’ He cast about for anything he could say to encourage her. ‘Do you want me to talk to him? Maybe he’d listen better to me.’

‘But if he _won’t_ listen to _me,_ isn’t that one more sign that this whole relationship doesn’t mean enough to him? I get that Korra’s important, I do, but since when is she more important than everyone else? Would he ignore you for her, too?’

Bolin bit his lip. He wanted to defend Mako, but he kind of _had_ been ignoring him lately, at least, not talking to him or paying much attention unless he, Bolin, initiated it. He had no idea what Mako was thinking or why he thought that way. He wanted to believe there was some decent, human reason behind his behaviour, but it seemed so cold. Mako had always played his cards close to the chest, usually didn’t even let his feelings show on his face, but he wasn’t always this hard to understand. ‘I don’t know,’ he said at last. ‘I hope not.’

‘How’d you go? Did Lin give you a more satisfactory answer?’

‘Well, uh, she, yeah, kind of...’ he faltered. It seemed so insensitive.

‘It’s okay,’ Asami said, smiling slightly. ‘I mean, I could see as soon as you came in how happy you were. You’re all starry-eyed.’

‘It’s not perfect, but it’s kind of great,’ Bolin admitted.

‘I bet,’ Asami said wistfully. ‘I was thinking, if things went well with Mako, he might be the first boy I slept with.’

‘Oh. Uh.’ He felt his cheeks go warm; it was slightly weird to hear about his brother’s potential no-longer-going-to-happen sex life. ‘Well, you know, it would be a shame if you _had_ but then he started acting like this, right?’

‘I wish, when you’re just angry and worn out with someone, you also stopped thinking they’re totally cute and wishing you could make out with them just one more time.’

‘Come on. We still need to do the cocoa part of our pact.’ He got to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Cocoa will help.’

‘Cocoa won’t help,’ Asami said, although she let him pull her up. 

‘It won’t heal, but it’ll soothe.’

‘This is new,’ she said, turning his hand in her grasp to examine the bracelet. ‘Lin’s giving you gifts?’

‘Uh, well, this is more of a learning aid. Look, it’s kind of cool.’ He expanded the bracelet and drew it down over his hand. 

‘Oh my goodness, you’re really metalbending, aren’t you.’ Her eyes widened and her perfect brows went up.

‘Well, yeah, she does actually give me lessons before she jumps my bones. Look, I can kind of squash it in and open it out. Lin says the next thing is to make it into a ball. I really want to see if I can get there before I go over tomorrow.’

‘That’s wonderful, Bolin,’ she said warmly. ‘I really am happy for you.’

He ate up some leftover rice balls in the kitchen, too. He and Lin had just eaten instant noodles in her kitchen, which looked like hardly anyone ever used it. He’d assumed that in such a big house she had a cook, but she told him she only got a caterer in when she had to entertain. The maid was the only servant besides a weekly cleaner, and her job was mainly to gate-keep and stop people getting in that Lin didn’t want to be bothered with. It was pretty different from the set-up at Asami’s house before everything had gone wrong.

‘Asami? You want to do... an activity tomorrow? We could get out of here and do something you’d enjoy.’

‘I just don’t know,’ Asami said, shaking her head. ‘Things aren’t too safe out there, especially for benders. I don’t want to put you in danger just to cheer me up.’

‘Well, I’ll be going over to the city anyway, and we don’t have to be scared if we’re together, right?’

‘What kind of activity are you even thinking of?’ she asked, refilling her mug. ‘Are you still angling for a makeover?’

‘ _No._ I mean, unless that would be fun for you too.’

‘Ha! We should do that. Get you all dolled up for Lin. We could take you to Boomerangs and get you a new outfit, get your hair cut, manicure...’

‘Except I haven’t got that kind of money. Come on.’

‘I have money. As well as having a frustrating, upsetting conversation with my supposed boyfriend today, I had actually productive conversations with a lawyer and a bank manager. Under the circumstances, the trustees agreed that I’m allowed to access my trust fund early, because all Dad’s other assets are frozen while that whole mess is investigated. So I could splash out.’

‘But you shouldn’t use that money on _me._ That’s for you to live on, right? The money your dad wanted you to have if... well, if anything ever happened to him.’ He hoped he hadn’t just put his foot in it. Something had certainly happened to Mr Sato.

‘Not exactly. That would be an inheritance. The trust fund was supposed to become available to me when I turned eighteen - whether Dad was still alive didn’t make any difference. It’s money to get me started in my own life. I _was_ going to use it to travel, visit our relatives back in the Fire Nation, then come back and get a nice apartment and start driving more competitively.’

‘Oh. Wow.’ That was a level of personal finance he knew nothing about, and Asami talked about it with such familiarity. There was nothing snotty or spoiled about her tone, but it wasn’t any big deal to her that she was going to get that kind of money just for living eighteen years, not getting a job or anything. He wondered suddenly if Lin had had a trust fund. 

‘But if I’d rather use a little of it to do something nice for someone else, well, why not?’

‘Yeah, but I don’t think I want to be “dolled up.” I mean, I like looking good as much as anyone, but I think Lin would make fun of me. She’s kind of down to earth.’

‘I’m not going to send you over in a frilly petticoat. Besides, now we’re talking about it, I actually want to go to Boomies. They have a really good masseuse in their salon. She does aromatherapy and puts hot rocks on your back and stuff. That would de-stress me.’

‘Okay then.’

‘Pinkie promise. No backing out. Anyway, no-one likes being pampered more than _you_ do.’

 

They walked up to the store arm in arm, because it struck Bolin as gentlemanly to offer Asami his arm, and because he felt he ought to be taking care of her in some small way, just to let her know he had her back. Although her make-up was as flawless as ever, it couldn’t quite hide the shadows under her eyes or their slight pinkness, suggesting she’d cried in the night and slept poorly. Bolin felt very mildly guilty about the fact that he had slept like a baby and had an epic sexy Lin dream that made his ears go all warm if he thought about it.

He had been inside Boomerangs exactly once in his life, to act as look-out for some older boys who were going to try their luck shoplifting. Unfortunately for them, their scruffy clothes had made the staff immediately suspicious; fortunately for Bolin, he had got distracted by the little steam engines that ran all over the store on tiny rails, chuffing and puffing and carrying messages and change in tiny sealed tubes, and hadn’t actually been doing anything _wrong_ when Sukwon had got caught trying to swipe what he thought was a flagon of very expensive perfume, and was actually only a display bottle of coloured water. In fact, he had been behind a stand of silk scarves staring raptly, unnoticed by anyone, when they were hauled off to the manager’s office. 

The little engines were still there, and the first thing you saw right inside the door was still a glorious display of cosmetics and colourful accessories, all backed with bright lights and mirror glass. Everywhere smelled like perfume, and Asami tipped back her head a little and smiled. 

‘This way,’ she said, and led him over to an elevator, which the attendant drove up to the fourth floor with a sort of hand cranky thing. The fourth floor was given over to a palatial salon, staffed by a throng of beautifully coiffed ladies and gentlemen in pale pink smocks. Their coats were taken and whisked away and they were led off to changing rooms. This was where things got embarrassing for Bolin. He was used to having visible scrapes and bruises on his body, but they usually came from good honest sporting injuries, not from the throes of passion, and he was afraid people could somehow tell the difference. Thank goodness you were allowed to keep your underwear on, or he would have felt compelled to explain the bite-mark on his right buttcheek. The scratches on his shoulders and chest and the hickies on his neck were bad enough.

He tried to follow Asami’s lead and act nonchalant about being laid out face down on a table, with a sort of horse-collar to hold his face, and very thoroughly kneaded by a wiry woman with well-oiled hands. He and Mako would sometimes help each other out with hard-to-reach muscle knots, but then, they were brothers, so it didn’t feel weird to handle each other like that. This felt extremely weird right up to the point where all his muscles just went gooey and he decided he liked it fine. 

He heard a faint sob, twisted his head to one side and saw that Asami was quietly crying, the tears dripping from her face and falling to the floor.

‘It’s okay,’ his masseuse said, firmly pushing his face back into the horsecollar. ‘It happens a lot. People start to relax, they let it out and they feel better.’

‘It’s okay, Bo,’ Asami said, sniffing. ‘She’s right.’

‘You’ve got a good boyfriend here,’ the woman said. ‘He saw you were upset and he tensed up all over.’

‘Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,’ Asami said. ‘Just my boy friend.’

‘Well, either way, he cares about you,’ the masseuse said, and stuck her elbow into Bolin’s spine, jellifying him again.

He still had kind of a good gooey feeling when he rolled up to Lin’s house, having seen Asami safely onto the ferry back to the island. He felt sort of shyly proud of his new outfit, with an undercurrent of nerves about what Lin would think of it. Still, maybe if she hated it she’d just tear it off him.

She was in the gym, stretching again, and she looked up at him with a trace of a smile. ‘Well, don’t you look fancy. Who’s been dressing you up?’

‘Asami,’ he said, giving a twirl and striking a pose.

‘Oh _no,’_ Lin said, getting to her feet with a quick, smooth movement, ‘I’ve got _competition.’_

‘Oh! No-no-no, it’s not like that.’ He waved his hands and shook his head urgently.

‘Awww, you’re not going to try to make me all jealous? Play us off against each other?’ Lin nudged him in the ribs slyly.

‘I would _never - you_ are making _fun_ of me.’ He shook his finger at her reprovingly.

‘Maybe a little. C’mon, get out of that fancy shirt and warm up. I’ll help you stretch.’

‘Aargh. Thank you.’

‘Did you do something to your hair?’ she asked as he pulled the shirt over his head, eradicating the hairdresser’s careful combing and pushing it back into line with his fingers.

‘Just a trim - but check it out, even Pabu got groomed.’ He held Pabu out for Lin to admire his glossy coat and new ribbon.

‘Spectacular,’ she said drily. ‘Are you going to turn into a dandy?’

‘No way. They wanted to shape my eyebrows, and I said no! These babies are the source of all my powers.’ He pointed to them with both index fingers for maximum drama, then sat down to take off his shoes, then stopped. ‘And look! I’ve been practising!’  He held out his hands, wrists slightly apart, then knocked them together, and with a grunt of effort, transferred the iron bracelet from the right to the left. ‘Pretty good, huh?’

‘Not too shabby.’

‘And look! I haven’t figured out the spinny ball trick, but I can do _this.’_ He spun the bracelet off over his hand and squashed it between his palms, concentrating fiercely to wad it into one small piece and change its shape. ‘Ta-daa! It’s for you.’ He held it out on the palm of his hand.

‘Oh, how sweet. It’s a little butt.’

‘It’s a heart. You’re looking at it upside down.’

‘I like it better if it’s a butt.’

‘If you like it, it’s yours.’

‘I know it is.’ She closed his fingers over the little iron heart/butt. ‘Keep it, though - to practise on. Work on a smooth, symmetrical ball. And now, get down and stretch.’

After stretching him to within an inch of his life, she bullied him to his feet and announced ‘Today we’re sparring. Show me what you’ve got, pro bender boy.’

‘Okay, but I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘Get over _that,’_ she said, and flicked him in the nose.

‘Traditional earthbending only!’ he shouted helplessly as she disappeared in a whirl of dirt. 

‘Great!’ she yelled back. ‘That way I’ll be able to say I beat you with one hand behind my back!’

Even without metalbending, Lin was a tough opponent, quick and mean. He couldn’t say she cheated in any way, but she took advantage of any weak spot so fast and so hard it didn’t always feel sporting. He was streaming with sweat, salt-water cutting crooked lines through the dirt and dust that coated his skin, and his whole body burned with the effort of simply keeping up and blocking her attacks. The floor of the gym rose and fell, ground and pounded and shook, and they slammed against one another again and again. His knees and elbows were skinned all to hell and he thought he had a fat lip coming, when he had time to think instead of just reacting. Lin was backing him up, throwing up great drumlins of earth, and as he skidded backwards he felt the edge of the sandpit under his heel. That gave him an idea, and it wasn’t entirely sporting either; he threw a huge stinging cloud of sand at her, and launched himself at her through it.

They collided, and her forehead hit his chin, he bit his tongue, the floor slammed into his back and knocked the wind out of him, and the next thing he knew he was sprawled on the ground, Lin tangled up on top of him and laughing breathlessly, spitting out grit. She kissed him before he could get his breath back, a wet messy kiss full of sand and spit, her tongue swirling over his hot sore lip. He grabbed her ass with both hands and rolled his hips up against hers with a grunt.

‘Umph! I love a man who puts up a fight.’ Lin pushed herself up on her arms and yanked her hair back with one arm, grinning down at him. Her cheeks were red and she was as sweaty as he was. He moved his hands without thinking, from her hips up over her waist, under her thin shirt, clutching her breasts and feeling her hard nipples prod into his palms.

‘Are we fighting, or...’

‘What do you think?’ She rose on her knees and yanked his pants down from his hips, and he rolled her onto her back, pulling at hers until a seam ripped and they slipped down. ‘Get in there.’

‘Right now?’

‘Right _now.’_ They were rolling together, she was so hot and wet and held him so tight, her legs locked around him and her hands clawing at his buttocks. Her voice rose in hoarse gasps, counterpoint to his deep grunting and panting, his pulse thumping in his chest and his head and his cock, building to an orgasm that emptied him out completely. He collapsed with his forehead in the dirt by Lin’s shoulder, panting on her wet, gritty skin. 

‘I think I felt the earth move,’ Lin murmured.

‘You can’t’ve come from that... sorry I was so fast...’ He lifted his head dizzily.

‘That time wasn’t so much about me coming... as about feeling _you_ come... and look what you did.’ She flicked her chin upward, and Bolin took in the fact that the earth floor around them looked as if a meteorite had slammed into it. Even the sand had piled up into mad trickling spires, gradually sliding back down to ground level. 

‘I never knew that could happen.’ He flexed his fingers and drew them out of the ground where they were buried. 

‘I’ve only seen it a few times. It’s weird, isn’t it? Looks like a big sculpture of your orgasm.’

‘We should try and make one of yours.’

‘I don’t work that way. It’s okay.’ She stretched out her legs, running the soles of her feet down the backs of his thighs. 

He kissed a scrape on her cheekbone. ‘Sorry about that.’

‘You’re just as banged up as I am. Come on.’

They got up, with a lot of grunting and wincing, and leaned heavily on each other to get to the bathroom, where they sat on the floor gradually cleaning up each other’s nicks and scratches. The antiseptic stung like crazy, and their eyes watered until tears ran down their grubby cheeks, and Lin broke up laughing at the tracks on Bolin’s face. The bath was steaming, the water pale purple this time, and she made him get in first, then sat down leaning on him.

‘You make a terrific backrest,’ she said, dropping her head back onto his shoulder.

‘You are _filthy.’_

‘Yeah? So are you. At least you don’t have sand jammed up in your cunt.’

‘I’m _really_ sorry about that.’

‘See if you can bend it out. No touching.’

‘I’ll try my best.’ He coaxed the sand out, but ‘no touching’ didn’t last long, his fingers stroking and probing while she arched and sighed, her hand over his, nudging and guiding, his mouth sealing and sliding over her neck and shoulders. He was hugely proud of himself when she came, shivering and breathless, and when she leaned on him afterwards, her chest gently rising and falling, her eyes closed peacefully and her lips slightly parted. 

‘This is so the wrong way to take a bath,’ he mumbled by her ear. ‘Instead of the bath getting us clean we’re getting it dirty.’

‘So bend the dirt out of the water.’ She spoke without opening her eyes, althought the corners of her lips curled up just a little.

‘I can’t. I’m pooped.’

‘Pussy. You still have to scrub my back.’

‘I will... just gimme time.’

In the end they moved to the shower, washing each other gently, still a little unsteady on their feet.

‘I’m having a weird day. First I got all pampered, then I got all beat up.’ Bolin scrunched his eyes shut as Lin washed his hair.

‘Which did you enjoy more?’ she asked.

‘If I say the wrong one you’ll pull my hair, won’t you.’

‘Or just punch you in the nuts.’ She nudged his head under the spray to rinse, plastering his hair down over his eyes.

‘I thought you _liked_ my nuts. Come here, I’ll do yours.’ He had to detangle her hair with his fingers. ‘Man, your hair does _not_ like to co-operate.’

‘Hereditary. So. Which did you enjoy more?’

‘Could I have both some time? Maybe you giving me a massage?’

‘I’ll walk on your back if you want.’

‘Okay, maybe not.’

They went up to bed with damp hair. This time Pabu skittered into the bedroom at Bolin’s heels.

‘I’m not sure I can do it with an animal watching me,’ Lin complained, dumping her towel on the floor and crawling into bed. 

‘I need a nap first anyway. I’ll stick him in the bathroom or something later.’ Bolin snuggled in beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

‘Roll over. I’m the big spoon.’

‘Always?’

‘Little spoon makes me feel squashed. That’s better. Besides, this way I can reach down and squeeze your ass any time I feel like it.’ She demonstrated, gently for her, and dozed off with her hand cupping his buttock, her slow, steady breathing warming the back of his neck and soothing him to sleep.

He slept sweetly and heavily, without dreaming, and woke to find Lin had wrapped her arm around him tightly. That made him smile to himself. He put his hand over hers, interlacing their fingers, and wondered if he was in love with her or getting there. He knew he _liked_ her a lot, but he still didn’t feel as if he knew her. On the other hand, maybe he didn’t know himself all that well, because if he’d been asked a week ago, he would have said he would absolutely have to be in love to have sex with a girl, and he would only have thought in terms of a _girl,_ someone around his own age. Well, he would have thought of Korra, and then he would have got excited and embarrassed in equal parts. 

The weird part was, thinking about Korra now was... just a little different. Not as intense. Was that a sign of getting over her? If she turned to him tonight or tomorrow and said ‘I’ve changed my mind about Mako, could we have another date?’ how would he feel, and what would he do? Lin had teased him about the idea of competition, but would she actually be hurt or disappointed if he got involved with someone else? He was getting himself into a pretty complicated situation, and he guessed since he was ‘involved’ with Lin first, he needed to put her feelings first. At least tell Korra he couldn’t go out with her until he’d cleared that up.

On the other hand, maybe Korra would never say anything like that, and he wouldn’t have to deal with any such complications, which was both a relief and rather sad.

Something else occurred to him. Obviously he and Lin weren’t ‘going out.’ He hadn’t told anyone except Asami about their relationship beyond the metalbending training, because at first he was ashamed, and after that... well... she hadn’t said so precisely, but he got the impression that Lin wanted it to be a secret, and expected him to understand that. It would kind of ruin the ‘de-stress’ aspect of the affair if it were generally known, because then they’d have to deal with people commenting on the age difference and thinking they were both total weirdoes, assuming Lin was taking advantage of him or that he had some kind of older-woman obsession or both. He might have thought similar things before he was actually inside the situation.

 _So,_ if Korra gave him another chance, could he even tell her a reason why he couldn’t take it up straight away?

‘Ugh...’ he murmured, and moved slightly, which brought his attention very forcefully to the fact that he was crazy sore. At least he could go home and ask Korra to put some healing water mojo on his knees and elbows, and truthfully say that they were sparring injuries, even if he suspected that he’d made them a lot worse by having vigorous sex on a dirt floor.

Lin stirred against his back, and he felt her chin poke his shoulder. ‘Ow,’ she mumbled.

‘You sore too?’

‘Thiz the problem... really rough fuck feels so good till later...’ She stretched her legs out, cautiously. ‘We holding hands?’

‘Mm. Cause I like you.’

‘Well, you have to let go, because I need to pee.’ She clambered over him and stumbled to the bathroom. He rolled onto his back, folded his hands behind his head, and contemplated the ceiling until she came back carrying a jar.

‘Arnica and stuff,’ she explained, tossing it onto his stomach. ‘This isn’t the massage you were looking for, but I’ll rub it on you if you rub it on me.’

‘You got it.’ There was something very pleasantly companionable about sitting up in bed rubbing liniment into each other’s sore places. Lin’s hands reminded him more of the masseuse’s than she might have thought, firm and competent, and as the aches eased, a warm glow replaced them. She seemed completely relaxed and comfortable with him touching her, which she should, surely, but there was a difference somehow between touching someone during sex and touching them when you were both calm and still a little sleepy and just taking care of each other. It made him feel especially tender towards her, particularly when she made faint murmurs of discomfort but pressed into his hands trustingly. The languid way she turned her head to let him work on the side of her neck prompted him to kiss her just behind the ear.

‘Oh, you’re getting frisky again? Too bad. I want to rest a little longer.’ Lin stretched out against the pillows, one arm tucked behind her head, her weight on her unbruised hip and her knees drawn up a little.

‘Fine by me, believe me.’

‘Here.’ She drew him down with her other hand, guiding him to lie with his head in her lap, and finger-combed his hair back from his forehead. ‘That okay?’

‘That’s great.’ She was smiling at him with just her eyes again, and he thought she was feeling a similar kind of tenderness. The funny thing was, she hadn’t called him honey or honeybun once today, but she seemed much more affectionate. In fact, he didn’t think she’d called him anything, except ‘you’ and yeah, once, ‘pussy.’ But here she was stroking his hair and looking at him like he was her favourite person, at least for the moment. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Depends what it is.’

‘Got any stories on legends you grew up with?’

‘Ah, storytime. I think all the good stories are pretty well known, though.’

‘Well, not stories about big things they did. Stories about what they were like. You know, in real life.’

‘In real life?’ Lin asked, her eyes briefly crinkling at the corners. ‘Well, all right, in real life... when I was little, at least, I had no idea they were legends. They were just my mother’s friends, and part of my family. Sokka and Suki and their kids were always around, and Aang and Katara and _their_ kids visited as often as they could, and we’d spend summer holidays with Zuko and Mai and _their_ kids on Ember Island. I remember on summer evenings they’d build a fire on the beach and sit around it drinking and talking late into the night, and we kids would curl up in blankets and towels and go to sleep in amongst them... I remember falling asleep with my head on Sokka’s knee, and waking up confused when someone laughed loudly, and him smiling down at me and just petting my head until I went back to sleep.’ Her hand had stopped moving in Bolin’s hair, fingers loosely curled. ‘They were so happy to be together. I always assumed that when I grew up I would have friends like that, probably that the other kids would _be_ my friends like that... actually, I can remember just one really serious fight they had, and that was between Katara and my mother, about bloodbending.’

‘Really?’ He didn’t want to break the flow, but he wanted her to know he was interested. Actually, he was interested in a lot of other stuff, like why the other kids weren’t still her friends, and why Sokka was so important to her, right alongside why she’d never mentioned her own father, but probing into that might make her shut right up.

‘Well, Katara was pushing for it to be totally banned. It wasn’t just dangerous, she said, it was morally wrong, evil, and the law had to reflect that. And my mother started arguing against that, mostly from a police perspective. What if you encounter two drunks having a knife fight - you don’t have to get in between them and risk getting injured yourself, you can make them drop their weapons and back off without hurting anyone. What about a wannabe suicide, up on a ledge - instead of creeping towards him trying to talk him down and calculating your chances of catching him if he jumps, you can make him step back onto the roof and sit down safely until you can reach him. How would it be evil to use bloodbending to prevent people hurting others or themselves? 

‘Katara started to sputter and said it was a good thing Mom wasn’t a waterbender, and Mom said she didn’t have to be - there was iron in our blood, so she was pretty sure it was at least theoretically possible for metalbenders to bloodbend too. Then Katara just went nuts on her... I don’t know how the argument worked out because right then Tenzin sneezed and we got noticed in the corner of the room and Aang herded us out. Whatever happened, they settled it, and the law went through. Mom never did work on bloodbending, as far as I know, and neither have I.’ She stroked his hair again, and teased a kiss-curl out over his forehead. ‘That the kind of thing you wanted to hear about?’

‘Do you think it _is_ possible?’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ she said, with a one-shoulder shrug. ‘But I think it would be very, very hard to do. There’s a lot more water in blood than iron. It would take extremely subtle control, more than I have. My mother might have been able to do it, if she’d focused on it.’

‘It wouldn’t depend on the full moon if you were working on the iron, though, would it?’

‘True. Don’t you get any ideas about trying it out, though, or I’ll arrest you. Citizen’s arrest, if I have to.’ 

‘I think I’m about a million years off from that, if all I can do is wrist-swapsies and little heart butts.’

‘Let’s try again for a ball. I’ll help you.’ She slid the bracelet down over his hand.

‘I want to get it by myself, though.’

‘And I want to teach you, so don’t be a pouty baby.’ She guided his hands. ‘You’re using a little too much force. This is very subtle. I know it’s iron, but you need finesse.’

‘It doesn’t want to be a ball,’ Bolin complained. ‘Every time I try to smooth out one side it lumps up on the other side.’

‘So don’t try to do one side at a time. You want to work it evenly, all over, at the same time. Picture it in your head, perfectly smooth and round. Like a marble. You play with marbles when you were a kid?’

‘Yeah... actually, I used to suck on ‘em. I liked how they felt rolling round in my mouth. I’d pretend they were candy.’

‘You were a weird kid. Anyway, that’s good. You’re getting it now. Feel how smooth that is? Keep it spinning. Good... keep it going... slowly pull your hands apart.’ The ball of iron spun in place, suspended between Bolin’s palms. 

‘I’m doing it! I am!’ He tried to make it spin faster, and it abruptly got away from him, shooting away and ricocheting off the wall. Lin ducked, glass smashed, the bed shook, and there was a deep hole in one of the pillows, a little puff of down rising from it.

‘... sorry.’

‘If I were a superstitious woman, I’d be pretty mad at you right now.’

‘Did I break your mirror?’

‘No - you smashed the photo of me and my mother.’ She pointed across the room; the frame was flat on its back on the dresser, shards of glass scattered around it.

‘At least I didn’t break your pig statue,’ Bolin offered, digging in the pillow with his forefinger for the iron. It kept getting away from him inside the case.

‘At least you didn’t shoot an iron ball into my _skull.’_ She flicked him hard on the forehead. ‘You don’t know your own strength.’

‘I’m very, very sorry, Sifu Lin.’ He made a deep, apologetic kneeling bow. 

‘No more bending lessons today, that’s for sure, so no more Sifu Lin.’

‘I only ever remember to call you that too late, anyway,’ Bolin admitted cheerfully. ‘Any way I can make it up to you? Maybe involving my fingers and/or tongue?’ 

‘It was such a mistake to tell you you’re cute.’ Lin rolled her eyes, pulling the iron from the pillowcase and spinning it out to bracelet form again.

‘C’mon, you weren’t the first one to tell me _that.’_

Lin shoved him down on the bed and climbed astride him, pinning his arms. ‘I knew this would happen. Now you’re overconfident.’

‘No, honestly, I always was. I’m notoriously cocky. Some people say I’m ballsy too.’

‘Was that your first attempt ever at dirty-talk? I feel so honoured to witness it.’

‘Yeah, you’re teasing me, but you’re also sitting right on my belly so I can feel you’re getting wet.’

‘How’s that feel?’ Lin rocked her hips.

‘Like... a sliding kiss... from a guy with a moustache.’

‘Quit giggling, you’re killing the mood.’

‘Well, whoever he is, he really knows how to kiss.’

‘Do you have a history of kissing guys? You can tell me, I’m open-minded.’

‘Ah, no.’

‘I’m putting the ring back on you before you get _too_ frisky.’

‘That won’t stop me.’ He grunted faintly as the metal slid over his cock and under his balls.

‘No, but it’ll keep the frisky in where I want it.’ She bent and kissed him, gently sucking his sore lower lip. 

‘Do you remember that thing you did at the end? That other time? You, um, you sort of poked me in the butt?’

‘Mm?’

‘You can do that again if you want.’

‘If I want? What do you want?’ She kissed him again, maybe to give him time to think about it, her jaw moving languidly as her tongue caressed his.

‘I um... hmm... I want you to do stuff I, I don’t know about yet, and you um, you pinched my nips too, you could... Lin... that’s... yes...’ He closed his eyes, bit his lip, caught his breath and let it go.

‘I’m sorry about that lip. That wasn’t on purpose. I wouldn’t mess up such important equipment.’

‘It’s not bad.’ He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she pushed them back, holding his wrists. ‘Oh, oh, is this going to turn into a weird cop thing where you handcuff me?’

‘Don’t be bizarre. I don’t keep handcuffs in my bedroom.’ She clucked her tongue impatiently. ‘I just keep a chunk of metal in the bedside drawer and make whatever I need out of that.’

‘I’m both slightly freaked out and hugely turned on.’

‘Well, that’s ideal.’ She leaned sideways to open the drawer, squeezing his body slightly with her legs to keep herself anchored, and brought out a sort of blob of smooth dark-grey metal in her palm. ‘Okay. Wrists up to the headboard. Not together, I like seeing your arms stretched out. Good.’ She hesitated just a moment, looking down at him, with a flicker of doubt in her eyes. ‘Hey. If you find you don’t really like it, or I put them on too tight, anything like that, say something, all right? I won’t get mad, and I won’t smack you. It’s only fun for me if it’s fun for you.’

‘Like the fighting.’ A cool loop of metal secured his right wrist to the bars of the headboard. It wasn’t tight, but it was firm like the grip of Lin’s hand.

‘Exactly like the fighting.’ She smiled slightly, and he lifted his head to kiss the underside of her breast as she leaned over him to cuff his left wrist. ‘Feel okay?’

‘Fine.’ He shifted his shoulders, getting comfortable, lifting up again to kiss the point of her chin as she settled down on top of him; she slid her hands into his hair and kissed him long and deep, breathing fast against his cheek. 

‘I want to _fuck_ you,’ she sighed.

‘Yes please.’ He couldn’t use his hands to angle her face towards his, bring her mouth to his, only tilt and move his head, reach with his own lips, and it made him sloppy. ‘Lin... oh...’ Her hands moved down over his chest, kneading, and she pinched his nipples tight, making him grunt and sigh. 

‘Let’s see.’ Her voice was low and deep and warm, and he felt a colder pinch on each nipple, little metal rings gripping into place. ‘That’s good too, isn’t it?’

‘Mm-hm. More kissing.’

‘Mm...’ She slid her hand down between them, lightly stroking his cock. He pressed up to her hand, sighing into her mouth.

‘Oh Lin...’

‘Good?’

‘Mmmnnnhhh...’ It was almost a whine, trailing away up high. She was playing with the head of his cock, with just her fingertips, and it felt so tender and hot and tingling that he couldn’t stop squirming, his knees lifting and his heels digging into the mattress. She shifted to long, smooth strokes up and down the shaft and he let out a long shuddery breath, panting with delight. 

‘Hold still, now.’ She shuffled down the bed and took him in her mouth, sucking him in deeply, her tongue surging up and down.

‘Oh!’ He sucked in a great breath and it broke up into a kind of astonished shaky laughter. _‘Lin!’_ His pulse was thumping as she worked up and down, cupping his balls in her hand; then she was kissing them, sucking, like nothing he’d ever felt, so that he could only gasp with joy and gratitude. Fingertips behind his balls, rubbing and probing, sending a startling jolt through him. Without really thinking about it he parted his legs, let her press in harder, her melting wet mouth moving up and down his cock again. He couldn’t believe how it _looked,_ either, her flushed face and his cock disappearing into her mouth, her lips stretched around him, little glimpses of her glistening pink tongue, her expression so intent and passionate. He wanted to stroke her face and her hair, but his hands were trapped. That was the point, he guessed, that he couldn’t do anything _back,_ but it made him feel selfish. Well, he could move his hips, but he didn’t want to gag her. She looked up at him, and her eyes smiled, and his heart skipped a little.

‘I’m gonna come,’ he blurted.

Lin lifted her head, though she kept her hand moving. ‘Really going to come, or _nearly_ going to come?’

‘I - I don’t know - I feel really close, and I don’t want to just squirt in your face without telling you.’

‘You are the sweetest boy I’ve had in this bed. Don’t worry about it. It’s not going to hit me in the eye if it’s in my mouth. Besides, remember this?’ She flicked the iron ring. ‘You’re going to feel like you’re coming for a while before you do.’

‘I don’t know if I can take it.’

‘Of course you can. Don’t be a wimp.’ She sucked him in again and his mind went sweetly blank for a while. He’d decided already that where she was wiggling her finger was pretty much the best thing ever. She kept moving it back, bit by bit, and he was getting a little concerned about that, because sooner or later she was going to hit his ass and surely she didn’t want to do that. Then she did, and it was clearly on purpose, and he was a little shocked at how good it felt.

‘Bolin?’ Her voice sounded a little thick and hoarse, but she was using his name so it must be important and he should try to pay attention even if he felt like he was melting.

‘Mmuh?’

‘Can I go in?’

‘In?’ He felt her press with her fingertip. ‘In there? You _want_ to?’

‘Mm-hm.’

‘I - okay - you _do?’_

‘I did say I want to fuck you.’ While he was figuring that out, she moved, getting up on her knees and nudging them in under his hips, pulling his legs to either side of her and lifting him up bodily. ‘Here we go. Try and stay relaxed.’ She spat on her finger and started again, gently wiggling it in. It felt utterly weird and backwards right up to the point where it felt delicious and he started making stupid high-pitched noises.

‘Good boy,’ Lin murmured. ‘Want something else in here?’

‘Uh?’

‘I still have some of this left, and the great part is it’s so smooth and you can keep it thin going in, then swell it out inside. That’s what I would do when I was your age, and I wanted something in me but I didn’t want it to hurt.’ She had the blob of metal in her hand, and he didn’t even think.

‘Yeah. Shove it in. More the merrier.’ It felt cool going in but quickly warmed up, and then there was weight and pressure in places he didn’t have names for, she was bending it around inside him and how the _hell_ could a person feel like this and not be coming already? ‘Aah!’

‘Okay. Hold still.’ Lin mounted him, her hips rolled, the pressure inside his ass moved in time with her, he was shaking with pleasure, and soon she was riding him so hard the bedhead was thumping against the wall. For the first time in his life he actually screamed as he came. Everything was heat and joy and glory and Lin shining over him until it all went _boom_. He lay there plastered to the bed and sucked air, half-fainting. The metal was loosening, receding, the pressure was easing off, and Lin was on top of him like a blanket, and right now, anyway, he loved her. He fell asleep inside a minute.

When he woke he was still sprawled on his back, and Lin had curled up beside him with her head in the axis of his shoulder. She had pulled the covers up, too, and he was dreamily warm. He wasn’t sure he’d ever move again, but after a moment’s effort he managed to turn his head and kiss the top of hers.

‘Hey,’ he said quietly, and she looked up. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’ She stretched up to kiss him. ‘Not too much for you?’

‘Completely and totally too much for me. Loved it.’

‘You adorable boy.’ Lin pinched his nose and settled down beside him again. ‘We scared your fire ferret, by the way. I looked over after you passed out and he was all backed into a corner with his hair fluffed out staring at us like we were monsters.’

‘Oops. Forgot to stick him in the bathroom. You think he’s scarred for life?’

‘Definitely. Way worse than walking in on your parents.’

‘Ew, Lin.’ He thought a moment. ‘You did come, right? I couldn’t do anything for you, and I was kind of spaced out so I’m not sure.’

‘Twice,’ she said smugly. ‘I just don’t scream about it like you.’

‘I’ve noticed you don’t make a whole lot of noise. You just breathe hard and grunt a lot.’

‘Yeah, I’m a quiet fucker. It’s all on the inside. Wait, don’t tell me I _grunt a lot._ What kind of thing is that to say to a lady?’

‘It’s very sexy grunting.’ He kissed her forehead, by the hairline, tasting her sweat. ‘Next time I think I should do a little more, though. You did all the work.’

‘It’s _fun,_ not work. Seeing you all helpless and horny, and feeling you shake and twitch.’

‘I don’t want to tie you up and go to town, I just want to go down on you or something.’

‘That would be acceptable. You feel all right? No broken wrists or anything?’

‘Fine. They’re a little bruised, but what isn’t?’

‘You speak the truth,’ Lin said ruefully. 

‘My butt’s a little sore, too, frankly.’

‘That’s normal, though. As long as it’s not hurting bad you shouldn’t worry.’ Lin nudged at him. ‘Roll on your side now. I want to spoon up and get some sleep.’ She settled behind him, her cheek against his shoulder, one arm around his waist, and sighed contentedly.

 

A phone was ringing, and he was so warm and comfortable, apart from various achy places. Pabu was curled up against his chest and Lin against his back. A phone should not be ringing, because everything was perfect like this. 

‘Ugh,’ Lin groaned. She pushed herself up and clambered over him to reach the phone on the nightstand. Before picking up the receiver she said ‘Hello’ once, as if rehearsing, making sure her voice sounded normal. ‘Hello? Beifong here.’ She leaned back on the pillows, dislodging Pabu, and listened. ‘Oh, hello, Tenzin.’

‘It’s dark,’ Bolin whispered. She rolled her eyes at him, as well as he could see in the gloom; they hadn’t closed the blinds and there was some moonlight, or maybe just streetlight, coming in at the window. He leaned past her and turned on the bedside lamp, then lay down with his head in her lap again, giving her his best big shiny eyes.

‘Sorry, I know it’s late,’ Lin was saying. ‘I suppose we lost track of time here. He’s fine. No, thank you for calling.’ Bolin turned his head and kissed her belly, hard and flat, her skin warm and a little tacky. She twisted her forefinger into his hair and gave a little tug. ‘Of course he can spend the night here. That’s no trouble at all. I have plenty of room.’ Bolin nuzzled downward, pressing a kiss into her pubic hair. ‘What? Thank you, I’m feeling much better. Wouldn’t have slowed me down at all a few years ago.’ She pushed on Bolin’s head, perhaps to tell him to cut it out, but he took it as a cue to move down. She made a faintly exasperated sound, but parted her thighs for him. ‘Oh, I think he’s very promising. Um. Yes. Could we - could we perhaps discuss this tomorrow, say? I’m pretty tired now - right, training all day. And it would be a good idea to have a real strategy meeting. Mm-hm. _Yes._ Well, I’ll see how tomorrow shapes up and call you. Mm. I - I’m sure you have to go, you have such a full house at the moment, I don’t want to keep you, thank you all right goodbye!’ She hung up and slumped back with a gasp. ‘You are _terrible!’_

‘I’m a beginner! I’m trying.’

‘Oh, no. You’re doing a good job _there._ Very good job there. Don’t talk.’

‘One last thing. I get to stay tonight?’

‘You get to stay. _Lick.’_

 

When Bolin woke in the morning, Lin was gone, only Pabu curled up in the warm dent her body had left in the mattress. He thought she might be in her bathroom, but there was no sign of her there, though the shower stall was wet and a towel was damp. He had a pee and a stand-up wash, then, since his clothes were still downstairs somewhere, wrapped a sheet around himself and went padding through the house looking for her. 

She was sitting in the kitchen, fully dressed, drinking a cup of tea. 

‘Morning, Lin-lin-lin, Lin-iment, lano-Lin,’ he said happily, hugging her from behind and kissing the part in her hair. She smelled of herbal shampoo, rosemary, but under that was a soft ghost of her own skin-smell, dusty and warm.

‘Sit down, Bolin,’ she said. ‘Have some tea.’ There was no humour in her voice, and not as much affection as he would have liked. 

‘What’s the matter? Did something happen?’ He sat down beside her and touched her arm. 

‘Don’t worry. Nothing’s happened. Here.’ She lifted the teapot and poured him a cup. ‘Drink that.’

‘But you’re upset. What’s wrong? Maybe I can help.’

‘You really can’t. It’s...’ She looked up at him, and her eyes were shadowed. ‘Listen, Bolin, I’m sorry. I’ve made some mistakes, and I haven’t been fair to you.’

‘What do you mean? You’ve been great to me. You’re making me so happy - you’re amazing, I keep telling you that.’

‘Please just listen. This isn’t easy to explain. I went into this for the wrong reasons. I wanted to use you, not in a way that would hurt you, but I wanted to use you to make myself feel better.’

‘And I have made you feel better, right?’ He tried again to touch her, to hold her hand, but she kept both hands on her teacup and drank again. 

‘I need you to go home,’ she said, ‘and not come back here. This,’ and she made a vague gesture between them, ‘needs to end. It’s just not right.’

His stomach turned cold and heavy. ‘No, Lin, come on. It’s fine. Who cares what anyone else thinks? They don’t even have to know.’

‘It isn’t about anyone else. It’s about you and me.’

‘Am I not good enough?’

‘I hate this conversation,’ Lin said, covering her forehead with one hand. ‘I don’t know how to get you to understand. None of this is me not liking you, or not wanting you. It’s because I like you and I want you too much. You’re so much more than I thought you’d be, you’re starting to mean so much to me, after last night I wanted you to stay forever, and-’

‘That’s fine! That’s great! I’ll stay forever! Your forever guy, right here!’ He held out his arms expansively.

‘Stop and think,’ Lin said sharply. ‘How are you going to feel when I’m sixty and you’re twenty-six? And don’t try to tell me that you’d still want me and it wouldn’t matter to you. It would matter to me. I’m already getting old and slowing down. I can feel the changes in my body. It’s hard enough to deal with when it’s just me, but if I have you around, and you’re young and strong and perfect, it’s going to be worse and worse. And you deserve all the things I can’t give you, all the possibilities and choices that are already over and made for me.’

‘I... I didn’t really think...’

Lin’s face softened, and she touched his cheek. ‘This is the thing. At your age, you can say “forever” and you have no idea what it means. For you, forever is until next year, maybe. It’s going steady, or whatever you call it now.’

‘We still say going steady,’ Bolin said, quietly. He wrapped his hands round the teacup, grateful that it was hot. He was starting to feel cold in nothing but a sheet. ‘Don’t you even want to try, maybe for a while?’

‘The longer it goes on, the harder it’s going to be to end it.’

‘It sucks as it is.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I just... I really want to make you happy, and be happy _with_ you, and you’re telling me I can’t do that. Not even temporarily?’

‘I don’t want to start counting on something I can’t keep,’ she said, and he could see the sadness in her eyes, but also the resignation. She wasn’t going back on this. 

‘One last time...’

‘No, honey.’ She gave her head a small shake.

‘Would it change anything if I said I think I’m falling in love with you?’

‘It makes me more sure I’m doing the right thing. I hate that it hurts you, but we’ll both be better off.’

‘I hope you know this is my second broken heart this year.’ He managed to smile when he said it, though.

‘It’s not broken. It’s just a bad bruise.’ She smiled back, wryly.

They kissed for the last time at her front door, and he turned up his coat collar and left in a hurry before he did something pathetic like cry.

 

Asami was in the living room today too, looking through the financial pages of the newspaper and writing in a notebook. She looked up and smiled when he came in, and without really thinking about it he flopped down beside her and put his head on her shoulder.

‘What’s the matter?’ she asked. 

‘I got dumped.’

‘Oh, no. Seriously? That bitch.’ Asami put her arms round him and patted his back.

‘She’s not a bitch.’ He told her about it, leaning gratefully into her warmth. Asami’s hair smelled like the perfume she’d bought yesterday, sandalwood and musk, and her skin smelled like powder and cold cream. Everything about her seemed soft and comforting, but he could feel the strength in her bearing him up. When she told him it was going to be okay, he believed her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I went back to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is important now that I've decided to continue this story: I want to be quite clear that this is an AU which parallels the real continuity in some respects but not in others. I don't see how Lin and Bolin could have had the affair that I've written in between episodes of the actual show, and I moved the timing of Asami's unsatisfactory conversation with Mako, and there are details like, you know, Bolin having this bracelet on that Lin gave him, which you can't reconcile.   
> I'm picking it up both because I like these two together too much to just stop, and because I wanted to write another story focusing more on Asami, but realised I couldn't be arsed to re-do all my 'establishing shots' and character development, when I would essentially be characterising both her and Bolin exactly the same way I do in this story. So I'll just continue here, and do what I want, and hope you enjoy it too.  
> One discrepancy that I'll address here, in case it's ever an issue: assume that Bolin still answered Iroh's question about metalbending in the negative, but he meant he couldn't metalbend them out of that situation because he had his arms tied behind him and he was a beginner.

It took forever for a chance to get Lin on her own. Everyone seemed to want to be together, celebrating, relieved, and Bolin didn’t feel actual relief until he noticed Lin slipping away from the feast the Water Tribe were bringing out for them. He waited five minutes, as near as he could count in his head, then excused himself as if going to the toilet and went in search of her. Then he wandered around outside in the cold, hugging a borrowed but slightly too small parka around himself, thinking that he had probably missed her and she was heading back inside while he looked for her, so he was getting a runny nose for nothing. 

He was just thinking how much he sucked at doing anything surreptitiously when he spotted her, standing at the top of a small rise in the icy land and looking out at the sunset, the sun like a blood orange smashed just above the horizon and trickling down behind it. He rushed up, realised just in time that it wasn’t a great idea to throw his arms around her from behind, unless he wanted an elbow in the solar plexus, and dodged around so she could see him coming before he hugged her as tightly as he could. She still stiffened up, but relaxed and put her arms around his waist.

‘I was _so_ worried about you,’ he said into her shoulder. Her armour was freezing cold under his cheek, but he wasn’t about to let go. ‘And I couldn’t say anything or get to see you... I’m so glad you’re okay after all.’

‘Well, thanks to Korra,’ Lin said. ‘Nice to see you too, kiddo.’

‘I heard what you did - the airship and everything - you are _amazing.’_

‘I was thinking of a story Sokka told me once. My airship slice wasn’t as successful as his was. Of course, he had my mother and Suki to help him; I was just me.’

‘Just you is incredible.’ He lifted his head and looked into her face; she gave him a tight, uncomfortable smile. ‘Lin... come on, don’t tell me you still think you failed.’

‘I didn’t _succeed.’_

‘You protected Tenzin and his family.’

‘And then they were captured anyway. Korra and your brother saved them.’ She shrugged one shoulder. ‘Don’t misunderstand, Bolin. I’m not out here pitying myself or feeling worthless. I’m happy I’ve got my bending back. It just... my pride was hurt, like it’s been hurt a lot recently, and I needed to clear my head. Away from everyone.’

‘You want me to go?’

‘You’re not everyone.’

He kissed her, hesitantly at first, in case he’d misread her and it was unwelcome, but when she tightened her arms around his waist he knew it was all right. Her nose was cold against his cheek but her mouth was so warm he wished he could get inside it.

‘I shouldn’t be doing this,’ Lin said, pulling back ruefully, though her arms stayed around him. ‘Backsliding. I said no more.’

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s as much me as it is you. Neither of us is letting go.’

‘Well, it’s really freaking cold.’ He sniffed hard, hoping he didn’t have a snail trail down his lip.

‘It’s so _dumb_ the way I still want you. For comfort, and in a funny way, to celebrate too.’

‘Well, yeah - we all lived, and we beat the bad guys, and things have to get better from now on, right? Those are all things to celebrate.’

‘Usually, I can walk away better than this. I tell myself it’s over and it is. But it _is_ really freaking cold.’ Now she kissed him, and her tongue slid between his lips while her hands slid down to his butt. ‘Come on. Let’s go somewhere a bit less visible.’

They went into the first unoccupied building that they found. Nothing within the compound seemed to be locked up. It was some kind of gym or training hall, and behind sliding doors along one wall was an equipment cupboard. 

‘Crash mats,’ said Lin, peering in. ‘Perfect.’ She crawled in and motioned for him to follow her.

‘I notice you don’t have crash mats in _your_ gym.’ He clambered in and she slid the door almost shut behind them, leaving them in a stuffy near-darkness. At least it was closer to warm.

‘Mats are for babies. Come here.’ Her hands found him, turned his face towards hers, and she kissed him fiercely. He shuffled closer on his knees, his heart starting to thump eagerly.

‘Metalbending lesson,’ Lin whispered against his lips.

‘Really?’

‘How to help a lady out of her armour.’

It was ridiculously difficult, so much so that he got the giggles, and there was a certain amount of clanking, but with some guidance he managed to shell her out of it. They kicked the metal parts to the back of the cupboard and rolled together again, tugging at buttons and zips, kissing feverishly. He pulled her shirt up over her breasts and pressed his lips to them, feeling her pant, her nipples hardening under his tongue. Every other time he had been able to see her; even through that one long night together they had kept at least the bedside lamp on. He missed seeing, but it was exciting to do this purely by touch as well. She slid her hands inside the waist of his pants, finding and stroking his cock, already hard and straining his inseam.

‘Oh, Lin!’ He tried to match her, slipping his hand inside her clothes, between her legs, his fingertips nudging through the rough hair to her soft lips. At first he felt only their softness, then as he stroked the wetness seeped through, welling out of her like magic, everything going slick and slippery. 

‘You’re waterbending again,’ she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. ‘You really do make me wet like nothing else.’

‘You make me so hard I think I’ll burst.’

‘Wanna burst?’ She rolled on her back, kicking one leg out of her pants. ‘Come on.’

‘Right now?’

‘Mm.’ She held his cock, guiding him into her, and his breath shuddered out of him at the smooth soft heat inside. He kissed her deeply, settling his weight on his elbows, feeling her legs wrap around his body, her hands on his shoulders. ‘Go nice and slow, and not just in and out. Feel this? Grind _round._ That’s it. _Yes.’_ He could hardly see her face, just an outline, a liquid shine where her eyes were, but he could hear her breathing deepen, and feel the warmth growing between their bodies. He wished he were properly naked, even if he might get cold, to feel her skin against his all over. He reached between them to yank his shirt up, so that at least his belly was touching hers, and her breasts grazed his chest as they moved. She made a little sound in her throat and hitched her hips against him.

‘Good?’ He was making such an effort to control himself that it was hard to talk.

‘Yes... oh... I don’t want to give you a big head... but you have _such_ a great cock...’ When he kissed her again he found her biting her lip. ‘Nice and slow...’ she breathed against his mouth. ‘Stroke me, baby.’

 _Baby_ was new. It made him wonder if she was testing out different names to see what would fit him best. He only wondered that with a small corner of his mind, though, the little bit that was still alert while the rest was just rolling in hot wet pleasure. He couldn’t feel the cold any more; sweat was breaking out on his back, and the slickness between his skin and Lin’s didn’t all come from her. Her breath gusted against his face, her parted lips and tongue brushed against his, lapping, sucking. Shaky little moans began to escape from him. 

‘You’re speeding up,’ Lin murmured. 

‘Sorry...’

‘No, it’s good... ahh...’ The grip of her thighs on his hips tightened and she pressed up to him. ‘Faster now... but keep grinding, I _love_ that...’

‘Lin...’ he sighed. He hunched over her, pressing his forehead into the mat above her shoulder, rolling his hips gradually faster, moaning louder as the hot fierce joy in his belly and his groin grew. She turned her head, breathing heavily into his ear, and licked the side of his neck, his cheek, her hands sliding down his back.

‘Now _fuck_ me,’ she whispered, and grabbed his ass. He knew it couldn’t last long when it felt this good, and he wanted more and more and more, even with no way to hold off the last glorious moment. He gave in and began to thrust frantically, faster and harder, holding his breath in spurts and then gasping for air. Lin was panting, little sharp grunts breaking through, clutching at him, and suddenly she stiffened and arched her back sharply, straining against him for a long moment before falling back with a faint moan.

 _Did she just - oh man, I made her come! I am the_ man! The sense of triumph was the last little thing he needed, and he felt an explosion of bliss. That was one level; the other level of it was feeling a burst of come well up and shoot through him, spurting into Lin’s wet depths, everything hot and sticky and slapping and squishing as his urgent thrusts stuttered and stalled. He lay on top of her exhausted, sealed to her with sweat, pushed roughly up and dropped down by her ragged breathing and his, feeling her heart and his thump against each other.

When he could get the words out, he asked her ‘Did you come? I think you did... I just want...’

‘Like an avalanche,’ Lin murmured. ‘A fucking avalanche.’ She lifted one hand and gave him a shaky pat on the back, and he chuckled weakly.

‘I’m getting better, then.’

‘Mmm... but you’re getting heavy. Roll over.’ She nudged him with her knee, and he eased himself over to lie on one hip beside her. The stuffy little space of the cupboard was warm now; the sweat was cooling slightly on his skin, but he didn’t feel a chill. He ran one hand down her side, wishing again that he could see her, but she was just grey on black, even after his eyes had adjusted.

‘Lin... thank you...’

‘Don’t go to sleep. We’ll have to go back soon.’

‘Crap. What are we going to tell them we were doing?’

‘The truth, of course. Impromptu metalbending lesson.’ She touched his face in the darkness, slid her fingers over and pinched his nose. ‘I did give you one.’

‘Oh... clever.’

‘I do want to relax a little while before we go back... get my breath back... but don’t go to sleep. Keep talking.’

‘What about? I don’t know... maybe I could tell you some stuff about me? My life?’

‘I probably know most of it already. I mean, I wouldn’t have invited you into my house and hit on you without a proper background check.’

‘Really?’ That felt decidedly weird, even if it meant she’d decided she approved of him already. ‘So... you know about stuff like my parents, and the mugger?’

‘Mm-hmm. I’m sorry.’ It wasn’t clear to Bolin whether that meant sympathy for his parents’ death, or an apology for snooping. Lin went on, ‘I did wonder, because of the way they died... if that gave you any sympathy for the Equalists?’

‘Well, when they started, I thought they had a point about some things, you know? There really are benders who trample all over ordinary people. But there are also a lot of us who don’t hurt anyone, or use it to do good like you, so... and then Amon came up, and started taking people’s bending, and that was just evil. I mean... I guess it would be fair, if you gave someone a real trial, and you proved they used bending for really bad crimes, if it was all up front and above board, it would be fair to have the Avatar take it from them... but taking it from everyone to make us equal, that’s wrong, that’s just... it’s really complicated.’

‘It is,’ Lin said, and he felt her nod, her hair brushing his shoulder. ‘My mother wanted it to be used as a penalty more often, for it to be the standard punishment for murder by bending, but Aang was reluctant to do even that. I think it took a lot out of him each time. That’s part of why Amon was so dangerous - he seemed to be able to do it so easily.’

‘I’m so, so sorry you had to go through that, Lin,’ Bolin said softly. ‘I saw it happen to people, and they looked terrified.’

‘Let’s not talk about that,’ Lin said. ‘It’s over and I’m fine again.’

‘But... I mean, would you have been okay if Korra hadn’t...’

‘Of course I would. I had a plan already, for once things settled down. I don’t believe for a minute that that monster could really completely deprive a person of their bending. Cut off their access to it, sure, but only an Avatar could truly remove it. It would still be there, and I would just have to find a way to reach it again. So I’d go on a little quest... under the mountains around Omashu, through the secret tunnel, with the badger-moles, and I’d invent earthbending over again from scratch if I had to.’

‘I am honestly not just saying this because you let me have sex with you. You are the coolest person ever.’ He hugged her round the waist and kissed her temple.

‘You’re such a cheerleader.’

‘You are! I’d go with you. I could help if you needed any bending done before you got yours back, and you know, I could keep you company and stuff.’

‘You’re just saying that because you think it’d be romantic.’

‘It wouldn’t _not_ be romantic. You and me, like Oma and Shu... secret tunnel, secret tunnel, secret secret secret-’ She clapped her hand over his mouth and pushed him onto his back, muffling his laughter.

‘You colossal _dork,’_ she said fondly.

‘You like my colossal dork. And I like your secret tunnel.’

‘Cut that out.’ She slapped his belly.

‘I can’t. If I don’t go to sleep after we do it, I get all giggly and dumb.’

‘Come on, then, giggly dumb guy.’ She sat up with a soft grunt. ‘Help me find my clothes.’

‘I wonder if Oma and Shu had to fumble round to find their clothes in the dark.’ Bolin rolled over, pushed up on his hands and knees, and started feeling around on the mats.

‘Maybe sometimes. They just wouldn’t put that in the story.’ She smacked him on the butt and joined him in the search.

‘I guess you couldn’t put a lot of the real stuff in a story... there’s stuff you only find out about when you do it. Like how sticky I feel right now.’

‘Or how your come’s running down my leg. Got a handkerchief?’

‘Um... here.’

‘Sorry if this grosses you out, but it’s the reality. I really need to pee, too.’ He could hear her wiping herself, the faint rustling sounds of fabric on her skin as she pulled her clothes back together, and he hitched his pants up and his shirt back down.

‘It doesn’t gross me out. I like how _you’re_ not grossed out. Oh, here’s your... sleevy part. And your breastplate.’

‘I’d just pull them all in to me, but you might get in the way in the dark and get dinged on the head.’

‘What if I lie flat and put my arms over my head?’

‘Good idea. Sorry if you get dinged anyway.’ He didn’t, although in the slithering and clattering he felt something whizz pretty close over his arm. ‘Okay, done.’ She patted him on the shoulder. ‘I found your parka, too; it was snagged up on my backplate. You looked cute in it, by the way.’ Something soft and heavy fell on him, and he felt the furry edge of the hood tickle his neck.

‘Did I?’ He got up and pulled it on. It felt like too much, since he was still all warm and sweaty, but he’d need it once they got back outside. 

‘You look better in the coat I gave you, though, so you’d better keep wearing that.’

‘Lin...’ He found her shoulders and pulled her in closer, kissing her softly. ‘I still really, really want to be with you. Will you at least think it over again? I know what you said, and I’m not trying to tell you how you should feel or what’s right for you... just... maybe it could work for a while? Maybe a year?’

Lin sighed, and he felt her rest her forehead against his, rocking slightly from side to side. ‘You couldn’t “be with me” the way you’re thinking. This is not a romantic relationship. We’re never going to be girlfriend-boyfriend. I could maybe see my way clear to being friends who fuck now and then.’

‘Done!’

‘I still only said maybe. Give me some time to figure it out. You get that it would still have to be secret, right?’ She lifted her head, but moved her hand to stroke the back of his.

‘Secret is fine.’

‘Because nobody will respect me if they find out I’m fucking a sixteen-year-old, and they won’t respect you either; the rest of your life you’ll be Lin Beifong’s toy-boy, and nobody will take you seriously.’

‘Eh, people don’t take me that seriously anyway. I’ll keep it secret for you, but I’d be proud to tell anyone I was with you. If they called me names, I’d just think they were jealous.’

‘Yeah? What if they called me names?’

‘I’d think they were assholes.’ He shrugged.

‘You wouldn’t feel compelled to defend my honour? Crack some heads?’

‘Only if you asked me to.’

‘Good boy. People _do_ call me names, of course. “Bitch” is one of them. I’m used to it. I just want to know you’re not going to fly off the handle.’

‘Well, anyone who thinks you’re a bitch just doesn’t understand you.’

‘Oh, I can be a total bitch when it’s called for. Just because you get to see warm fuzzy Lin doesn’t mean cold bitchy Lin isn’t real. What are you giggling about now?’

‘Warm fuzzy Lin. Even when you relax, you’re still such a hardass. No, no, I _like_ that about you.’

‘I thought I was very warm and fuzzy. I called you names like honeybun and everything.’

‘I kind of thought you were making fun of me, you know.’ He kissed her cheek to let her know he wasn’t criticising.

‘Ugh, I suck at affection. Either I don’t show it or I _try_ to show it and it comes off weird and sarcastic. You’re lucky I haven’t spent this whole time punching you in the arm or calling you chunky-butt or something.’

‘You show me lots of affection. And you can call me chunky-butt if you want.’ He wrapped his arms around her, shuffling closer to her on his knees.

‘I kind of felt good calling you baby. I couldn’t stick with honey or sweetie, but baby seems to fit you. Anyway, you don’t call me anything, so you could make some effort too.’

‘I called you Liniment one time. Cause you make me feel better where I hurt, and I want to rub you all over me.’ He nuzzled at her cheek, and felt her smile.

‘You don’t call me anything that isn’t ridiculous, then.’

‘Linnie-mint... because your hair smells kind of minty...’

‘Not right now, it doesn’t.’

‘Okay, now it smells sweaty, but I like that too.’ He hugged her tight, pressing his cheek against hers, taking a deep slow breath and feeling her tighten her arms around him too. ‘I could call you baby too, if you want.’

‘How about I think about whether I’m going to change my mind, and after _that_ you can think about what you’d like to call me?’

‘Okay.’

‘We should get back.’ She didn’t stop leaning on him, though, and she let him hold her hand part of the way back to the others.


	5. Chapter 5

Getting back to Air Temple Island, Bolin had thought things might settle down for a while, but he had to revise that opinion when the crazy screaming man vaulted down from his ship and tackled Tenzin to the ground. The children promptly screamed ‘Uncle Bumi!’ and dogpiled the two of them, so that Tenzin completely disappeared under a writhing stack of bodies.

‘I feel like we should rescue him,’ Mako said uneasily.

‘Yeah, but Pema doesn’t look worried,’ Korra pointed out. Indeed, Pema was smiling placidly and patting her baby’s back.

‘This is fairly standard in their family,’ Lin said. ‘Bumi’s always been mental.’ She raised her voice a little. ‘Hey! Bumi!’

A shaggy head shot out of the pile and grinned wolfishly, and a second later Bumi rocketed out of the tangle and tackled Lin too. She was ready for him, and they grappled for a few seconds before she twisted out of his grasp and got him in a headlock, forcing him down to his knees.

‘Ow! Ow! I give, I give!’

‘Damn right you do,’ Lin said, grinning and loosening her grip a little. ‘Hey asshole, how come you don’t write?’

‘I hate writing. You know that. And your damn letters are like police blotters.’ He suddenly squirmed like an eel and threw her onto her butt, then dropped himself across her like a plus sign, knocking the wind out of her. Bolin took half a step forward, wondering if he should help or if that would annoy her. She looked pretty happy, though, and he was struck by the weirdness of being happy to _see_ her happy, and a little cheesed off that it wasn’t him making her look that way.

‘I’m so pleased to see you two have reaffirmed your friendship,’ Tenzin said, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. ‘Now would you care to stop rolling around like puppies?’

‘Speaking of puppies!’ Bumi bounded up and leapt over to Pema. ‘I hear I’ve got a new nephew.’

‘We’re calling him Rohan,’ Pema said. ‘You can hold him if you’re gentle.’

‘Remember when he dropped Meelo?’ Ikki asked loudly. She ran up to her uncle and clamped herself onto his leg like a koala. 

‘On the HEAD!’ Meelo added, taking possession of the other leg.

‘One foot, onto a bed,’ Bumi protested, taking hold of the baby quite competently. ‘It’s not my fault you’re like this. You were a squirmy little bugger even then. Not like Rohan - I can see he’s a _good_ boy. Hi Rohan. Hi baby boy. I’m your Uncle Bumi. I’m going to teach you to raise hell. Yes I am! Abububububu!’ The baby blinked at him stoically.

‘You okay there?’ Bolin offered his hand to Lin. She grabbed his forearm and pulled herself up.

‘I’m fine. I told you he’s mental.’ She dusted off the seat of her pants. ‘Much as I’d like to stick around, I think it’s time I went home and made sure the place hasn’t burned down.’

‘Want me to go with you?’

‘What for?’ She gave him an odd look that he realised was a warning.

‘I, um, I don’t know, I mean, things could still be kind of unsettled over in the city.’

‘That’s true, Lin,’ said Tenzin, who had repossessed his baby from his brother, although he had let him keep the leg-warmers. ‘Perhaps you should stay here a while longer.’

‘If things are unsettled, I’ll settle them.’

‘Our troops are patrolling everywhere by now,’ Bumi added. ‘They’re co-operating with the local police. You shouldn’t have any problems getting home, Lin.’

‘You see?’

‘Still, why be in such a hurry? Stay and catch up. Hold the baby.’ Bumi confiscated Rohan from Tenzin and held him out to Lin.

‘I really don’t need to hold the baby,’ she said uneasily, but accepted him gingerly. Rather than cradle him in her arms, she held him with one hand under his neck and head and one under his bottom, and looked at him as if he might suddenly squirt poo from all orifices.

‘You need to hold him closer to your body,’ Tenzin said, stepping in. ‘He won’t feel secure like that.’

‘He’s secure,’ Lin said, stepping back.

‘Would you like me to show you?’ Pema asked, hurrying over.

‘No, no, here, take him, he should be with you.’ Lin handed him off quickly and looked relieved as Pema tucked the baby into the sling around her body. Hearing Bumi utter a muffled snigger, she turned and slugged him in the arm.

‘Aargh! Dead arm! Dead arm!’

‘You did that just to make me uncomfortable,’ she accused him.

‘Come on, you were cute, all holding the baby like a bomb.’

‘Ah. Commander Bumi - would you care to report?’ It was Iroh, coming up from who knew where, and Bumi snapped to attention and started barking out military jargon. Lin took the diversion as an opportunity to slip away. Bolin watched her go, wishing he had a good excuse to follow. He still wasn’t sure if he was in love, because with everything that was happening he was having to revise his definitions pretty heavily, but he just wanted to be _around_ her, even if they had to keep up a front. Well, obviously, there was a lot more he wanted - to walk hand in hand with her, to be able to kiss her any time, to go to bed with her and wake up with her and lie there in bed skin to skin and talk about anything. He wanted to ask her if she’d made a decision yet, but he was sure that would make her feel pressured, and equally sure that pressure would put her off.

‘Bolin. Boliiiiin.’ A hand was waving in front of his face, and he snapped out of it. ‘Did you just space out there?’ Korra asked him.

‘I guess so. I’m _beat_ after the last few days.’

‘Well, I think it would be safe for you to take a nap now,’ she said, and patted him on the shoulder. It felt good, but there was no electricity in it any more. When he’d hugged her goodbye and told her to be careful, too, that nervous fizzing energy that he still felt when he touched Lin had evaporated. Was _that_ part of love, or just being horny? He still thought Korra was wonderful, she still felt incredibly precious to him, but it seemed like something had gone.

‘I think I’ll take a bath first. I’m probably pretty filthy after everything.’

‘Good idea. Mako and I are going to talk to General Iroh, figure out what to do next, but after that we’ll probably do the same.’

‘Fill me in on anything important, okay? I want to help.’

‘Will do.’ She gave him another pat and left, and he started back into the temple, belatedly realising that she’d said _‘we’ll_ probably do the same,’ and wondering whether that meant she was thinking in terms of a bath and bed _with_ Mako, and whether it was any of his damn business.

Although the temple had separate dormitories for men and women, there was one large bath-house, and groups took turns. On one side of the building was a smaller bathroom used by Tenzin’s family, and Pema had told him and Mako they were welcome to use this as well, since it was quieter and more private. He’d been grateful for that, particularly when he came back from Lin’s all scratched up, and besides, it was fun to play with the Air kids’ bath toys. 

He found some clean clothes in his room, got a towel from the big linen cupboard and headed down to the bathroom. He had his hand on the door when he heard something from inside, and was about to turn back when he heard it again, and realised it was somebody quietly crying. He stood there dithering. If they were crying in the bathroom, they probably wanted privacy, but on the other hand, if they were crying they were probably in some kind of trouble and he really ought to at least offer some help. He decided to pretend he hadn’t heard anything and opened the door briskly. 

Asami was sitting on the floor, fully dressed, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her face buried in her arms. Her head jerked up when she heard the door, and he could see her skin was all flushed and mottled, her mascara streaking down her cheeks. When she saw it was only him, she dropped her head again and wept harder.

‘Oh, Asami, I’m sorry - do you want me to go?’ She shook her head and uncurled one arm to wave him in. He shut the door, and this time, turned the lock.

‘I can’t believe I forgot to do that,’ she muttered, hearing it. Her voice was throaty and muffled, and he could hear that her nose was all stuffed up. ‘I just wanted to have a little cry where nobody would see me, and I messed that up.’

‘Here.’ There was a little basket of washcloths standing on a shelf, and he grabbed a couple and knelt down beside her. ‘You want to blow your nose?’

‘I hate crying like this,’ she said, seizing the cloth and blowing into it vigorously. ‘It’s all tears and snot and spit and I feel disgusting. But I had to let it out. It felt like I had a sea urchin in my chest the whole time.’

‘Hug?’

‘Please.’ She leaned sideways and put her head on his shoulder as he folded his arms around her. ‘Everything is so - shitty!’

It was such an un-Asami word to use that he couldn’t hold back a little weak laugh, and she laughed too, although he could still hear tears in her voice. ‘I’m here for you.’

‘And I’m so _angry,’_ she said. ‘That’s two thirds - no, three quarters of why I’m crying.’

‘With your dad?’

‘With him, and Amon, who _used_ him, I’m sure of it, he _worked_ on Dad’s feelings about Mom and me and made him worse and worse... and I’m sorry, but I’m so damn angry at Mako! _I care about you!’_ she mimicked nasally. ‘Son of a _bitch_ didn’t even break up with me properly!’

‘I’m sorry...’

‘Don’t _you_ be sorry. He’s the son of a bitch here - I’m sorry, that’s rude to your mother. He’s the asshole. He _never_ takes responsiblity - did you hear him? He was sorry _things got so messed up_ between us? As if it just _happened,_ it wasn’t anything he _did?_ I was trying to be the bigger person because I thought he might die, but he’s fine now so I’m so _mad_ at him!’ She dropped her forehead on his shoulder again, sobbing.

Bolin rubbed her back gingerly. ‘Asami... he was wrong to say that, really wrong, but it’s not fair to say he never takes responsibility. He’s taken responsibility for me our whole lives.’

‘Then he’s a good brother but a lousy boyfriend. And I still want to punch him in his stupid face. So I’m just going to stay right away from him until I can get over this a bit, because that’s not the kind of person I want to be.’ She lifted her head enough to mop at her face with the washcloth. ‘I hate feeling like this. Being so _angry._ Like Dad.’

‘I wish Mako had been there for you the way he was for me. No matter what, he always made me feel safe.’

‘Well.’ Asami sniffed hard and scrubbed at her eyes. Most of the make-up had rubbed off now, leaving her eyelids pink and puffy. ‘You’re doing a pretty good job. I bet I look like crap,’ she added, as if it followed.

‘You just need to wash your face.’ He squeezed her gently. ‘I promise you, Asami, things are going to get better. And you’ve been so brave, and so _good,_ you did the right thing even when it really hurt you _._ I admire you so much. You’ll get through this. You can do anything.’

‘Aw. You know, if you hadn’t been in the arena yourself, you would have made a great cheerleader.’ Asami managed a wan smile.

‘Huh. That’s kind of what Lin said.’

‘Oh, Bo, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of her.’ She stroked his cheek, looking at him with concern. 

‘I - um, I actually think we might be back on.’

‘Seriously?’

‘At the South Pole we hooked up again, and she’s thinking about it.’

Asami frowned. ‘Isn’t she kind of jerking you around? On again, off again?’

‘I don’t think so... I mean, we’ve only been on and off once.’

‘I’m probably over-sensitive about that stuff at the moment,’ Asami said, ‘but let me tell you, if she ever makes you feel the way I do now, I’ll kick her ass for you.’

‘You’d probably find a way, too.’

‘Okay. I’m going to wash my face, as you so sensibly suggested, and the rest of me too, and I’m going to go to bed, and things will look better after I’ve had a good sleep.’

‘Right. Want me to wait outside?’

‘Yeah... I feel pretty close to you these days, but not brothers-and-sisters-in-the-bath close.’

‘Yeeeeee-ep.’ He backed out carefully.

 

He must have got a few hours’ good, peaceful sleep, because it was getting dark, and he felt much better physically, when someone woke him by sitting on his head and farting in his face. 

‘Wake up!’ Meelo said, and bounced on him.

‘Aargh! What the- get off me, man! That’s rank!’ He managed to sit up and grab Meelo by the front of his top. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Meelo licked his face and he flinched back.

‘Fireworks!’

‘What?’

Meelo wriggled free and struck a pose on top of the crumpled bedcovers. ‘In honour of the restoration of peace and good order to Republic City, a grand pyrotechnic entertainment will be provided on the harbour this evening! So get up or you’ll miss it.’ He bounced off the bed and scooted away, leaving Bolin stunned and spitty. He wiped his face with his forearm.

‘You’re supposed to _guard_ me when I sleep,’ he said to Pabu, who was sitting on his pillow. Pabu chirped apologetically. ‘Okay, you’re tired too, but seriously, the only person allowed to sit on my face is - you-know-who.’

He got dressed again and wrapped himself up in the Lin coat, shuffling out into the dusk to find people setting up the temple courtyard as a viewing area. While it grew dark, he helped a couple of Air Acolytes to carry out mats and blankets for people to sit on and keep warm under. Asami appeared, also well wrapped up and yawning slightly, and together they set up a spot where they thought they’d have a decent view.

‘As long as the statue doesn’t get in the way,’ Asami said, settling down on their mat.

‘Yeah, down in front, Aang.’

She sat beside him, and they arranged the blanket over their legs. Soon the lights on the big United Forces ships out on the harbour went off, and then a single white flare went up. With a murmur of anticipation, the watchers settled in. Glancing around, Bolin could see the three children crouching avidly over sparklers, and Korra and Mako bundled up in another blanket. Asami put her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her. That felt nice, cosy - maybe brother-sisterly. As flowers of fire blossomed in the sky, he realised she was falling asleep on him. Her head slumped over, her breathing softened and deepened, and he adjusted his position so he could hold her up better. 

Then Lin walked up, her hands in the pockets of a thick overcoat.

‘Hello there,’ she said. ‘All the other mats seem to be taken. Mind if I share yours?’

‘Oh. No. Sure, there’s room.’ He lifted up the side of the blanket. ‘Want to get in on this?’

‘Thank you.’ She settled in beside him, sitting with a respectable little space between their bodies. ‘Bumi called and told me I had to come back and see this. He designed some of the fireworks, so I thought I’d humour him.’ She leaned back on her hands.

‘Was everything okay at your house?’

‘All the windows in the front blew in, so the place was full of broken glass and the curtains are torn, but otherwise all right. We managed to get it all swept up, and paper over the windows for now.’

‘Good. I’m glad.’ How was he supposed to behave now? ‘Uh, so, Commander Bumi’s a firebender?’

‘No - he’s no kind of bender at all. I always think that’s why he developed such a... forceful personality. When you’re the son of Aang and Katara and you’re a non-bender, you have to find some other way to stand out. He just loves explosions. Used to mix them up from a chemistry set.’

‘You two seemed really close.’

‘We were as kids. He was like a little brother.’ Under the blanket, she gently nudged his knee with hers, and she spoke in a lower voice. ‘I saw your green eyes.’

‘My eyes are always green.’

‘I haven’t had someone be jealous of me for a really long time, so it wasn’t unwelcome. You just need to learn not to show it.’

‘I wasn’t... I just wished it could be me.’

‘I can give you a dead arm if you want, but I don’t think you’d like it.’

‘No, that’s okay. I’ll cope.’ He slid his own hand backwards, trying to touch hers. She pulled it away, but scooted sideways a little, so that they were hip to hip. A golden phoenix shot up in the air and looped the loop before exploding in a cloud of flaming feathers.

‘That’s one of Bumi’s, I’ll bet,’ Lin said. ‘If he hadn’t gone into the armed forces, I think it would have had to be demolition.’

‘It’s pretty cool. Especially if he can’t firebend.’ _Have you made a decision?_ ‘You want a hand cleaning up at your house tomorrow? I could help you hang new curtains, or whatever...’

‘I won’t be home tomorrow. I’ll be at headquarters.’

‘You’re getting your old job back?’

‘No, but they need me to help organise and direct resources. For one thing, tomorrow we start the restoration of bending. It’ll be a huge public gathering and we’ll have to keep order, since Korra can only help one person at a time. We don’t yet know how many she can do before she gets tired, either, so we may have to turn disappointed people away until the next day. It’s important to do it, but there’s a lot of potential for trouble. That’s what I’ll be overseeing - co-ordinating from base.’

‘I could bring you lunch, or something.’

‘You’re sweet, but I can eat in the cafeteria.’

‘Then... dinner? I could have it all ready for you when you get home.’

‘You cook?’

‘Well, I thought I’d pick up take-out.’

‘As long as it’s not sea prunes, you could have a deal.’ They watched the fireworks in silence for a minute or so. Then Bolin felt Lin move slightly. She lifted her arm and moved it between them, and placed her hand lightly on his leg. 

‘Lin?’

‘Shh, baby. Nobody’s looking at us.’ Her hand slid down the inside of his thigh, making his skin flush hot under his clothes. Then it was between his legs, cupping and slowly rubbing. He felt a warm surge and bit his lip. 

‘Lin... Asami’s here...’

‘She’s fast asleep, isn’t she?’

‘Yeah...’

‘Does this feel good?’

‘Yeah...’ He could feel his cock thickening and tingling.

‘Do you want me to stop?’

‘No,’ he admitted.

‘Good.’ She made a little gesture, and his zip slid down. Cautiously, he shifted his butt forward a little, tilting his hips and parting his legs to let her reach in and ease his cock out of his underwear. Her hand was cold, and he caught his breath, letting it slowly out as she began to stroke him. His breath rose in front of him like mist in the cold air, and star-shells that looked like red roses started to go up. Lin’s hand was growing warm, and his heart was thumping as the pleasure grew along with the heat. Asami murmured faintly, shifted her head on his shoulder and grew still again. 

He lifted his hand from the mat and slipped it under the blanket, reaching into Lin’s lap. She must have realised he would; her pants were already undone, perhaps with the same stroke that undid his zip. She wasn’t wearing any armour under her coat, either. Had she come planning to do something like this, or simply wanting to be comfortable? He couldn’t think, and it didn’t matter; he was sliding his fingers into the waistband of her underwear and down over her smooth, firm stomach. This whole thing felt like a dream, the unreality of the fireworks popping and flashing in the sky, Asami’s warm weight on his other side, Lin’s hand tugging his hard cock and his fingers sinking into her melting wetness. 

Lin was breathing a little faster, but her face looked calm, just a little rosy by the red light in the sky. He traced the borders of her lips, parting and stroking them, gliding his fingertip up to stroke the hood of her clitoris. A vivid memory came back to him, filling his mouth with the taste of her secretions; he was nose down in her lap again, licking, flicking his tongue rapidly over the taut little pink nub, her bedsheets were crumpled and wet beneath them, she was gasping and rolling her hips, and he could taste himself in her. All he wanted now was to slide out from Asami’s weight, roll over onto Lin and slide into her. He was rubbing hard now, his jaw aching with the strain of not crying out, and he could feel her trembling, though she kept looking up at the fireworks as if they were just lovely and the only thing on her mind, as if she didn’t have his cock pulsing in her hand and his heart hammering in his chest. How could she be so wet and so calm? He felt as if he were going to come any second, but it kept not quite happening.

And then her face changed, just as a blue-green rocket went up and spattered the sky; her eyes flickered closed, her eyebrows drew together and her lips parted in a soundless ‘oh!’ He felt her hips jerk once, twice, then grow still. Her hand grew still too, as she breathed deeply and slowly, and he imagined the orgasm fading out through her nerves like the last flickering sparks falling through the night.

‘Okay,’ she said quietly, and it sounded as if her mouth was dry. She began to move her hand again. ‘Is that good?’

‘It’s so good... but I can’t quite...’ The pleasure and the tension were driving him crazy, and he was starting to wonder if this could actually damage him.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s too public, I just...’ He trailed off helplessly.

‘Is this like how you can’t pee if I’m in the bathroom?’

‘Lin, I - maybe you should stop...’

‘It’s okay... nobody’s watching you, baby, just come for me.’

‘Uhh...’

‘Shh...’ 

She was rubbing him faster, and he clamped his lips together, breathing hard through his nose. Lin leaned closer and very gently, precisely bit his earlobe, and that took him over the edge. He made a noise somewhere between a sneeze and a cough, and came blissfully. He had to lean on Lin now, trying not to drop Asami, while it rolled through his body.

‘That girl is a sound sleeper,’ Lin murmured next to his throbbing ear. ‘I want to thank her, but she wouldn’t know what for.’

‘Oh Lin... Lin...’ It took all the control he had left not to kiss her. She was stroking him very lightly now, tucking his cock away as it softened.

‘Shhhh.’ She zipped him up and patted his leg.

‘Please, can’t I come home with you? I want... I want to...’

‘You can come over tomorrow evening. Metalbending lesson, right? You can bring food if you want. I should be back by six o’clock, but if I’m going to be later, I’ll call.’

‘Does this mean...’

‘Call it a trial period. Watch the fireworks, baby.’ She leaned back on her hands again, seeming perfectly relaxed.

‘They... they really are pretty. It was a nice idea of Bumi’s. Give everyone something fun and happy for tonight, after everything that’s happened lately.’

‘Mm. There’s that. And then there’s the message they send.’

‘Roses and phoenixes and stuff? Are those symbols?’

‘Firepower, Bolin. It all says, hello, surviving Equalists. The guy who was supplying you with your weapons and engines of destruction is in custody here on one of our ships. We have a fully powered up Avatar. We have the might of the United Forces Navy, and a whole lot of very tooled up and pissed off firebenders. They can make pretty pictures in the sky, or they can burn your houses to the ground. Think very, very carefully about your next few moves.’

‘Wow. That’s kind of harsh.’

‘So is taking people’s bending away.’

In the sky above their heads, a blue arrow of sparks rose.

 

Bolin was woken again not long after he got to sleep, though at least this person had the decency to shake his shoulder. He rolled over and found Mako was bending over his bed.

‘Whst?’ he said sleepily.

‘I need to talk to you,’ Mako said.

‘Whabou?’

‘During the fireworks display tonight...’

 _Ohshit._ His stomach went icy cold and turned over. All right, if Mako knew, he could swear him to secrecy, surely his own brother would keep a secret for him.

‘... you were looking awfully cosy with Asami.’

Okay. That made sense. Lin hadn’t stayed with him for the whole display, but Asami had. After Lin got up and left, Asami had woken up in time for the grand finale, an aerial battle between a blue and a red dragon. She had stayed curled close to him under the blanket, her head on his shoulder, his arm around _her_ shoulders, and they’d oohed and aahed a little. He hadn’t remotely been thinking about that looking romantic to anyone else; he’d only been able to think of Lin and how she’d left him wanting and needing her like crazy.

‘Are you moving in on her?’ Mako asked sharply.

Now that he wasn’t scared any more, he felt indignant. He sat up in bed. ‘No, I’m not. What kind of question is that?’

‘If you’d take advantage of her being on the rebound -’

‘Why? Is that the kind of thing you think I’d do? I never even thought about that! Anyway, why do you care?’

‘I don’t want to see Asami get hurt.’

‘Well, that’s really rich, coming from you.’

‘Why are you so pissy with me all of a sudden?’

‘I don’t know. Could it be the way _you_ hurt Asami, and you went after Korra knowing I still liked her, _while_ you had a girlfriend, and now you’re waking me up in the middle of the night being all suspicious? I don’t get you lately! You act like you don’t care about anyone except Korra any more.’

‘I’m _in love_ with Korra.’

‘So nothing else matters? Can’t you hear what a jerk you sound like?’

‘Go back to sleep, Bolin. I wouldn’t expect you to understand,’ Mako said wearily.

He understood all in a rush what Asami meant about being mad at Mako now that she knew he was all right. He got up on his knees and gave Mako a shove. Mako shoved back, and the next second they were fighting for real. Neither of them used earth or fire, but grabbed and pushed and smacked at each other, made clumsy by both anger and unwillingness to really hurt the other. Mako had height and agility on his side, but Bolin had weight and hurt feelings. He bore him down on the floor and knelt on his back. ‘Say uncle.’

‘Uncle! What’s wrong with you?’

 _‘You_ stay away from Asami. And if you ever treat Korra the way you’ve treated her... actually, I won’t need to do anything, I bet she kicks your ass herself.’ He got off Mako’s back and sat down heavily on the bed. ‘Get out of my room.’

‘Fine. Dick.’ Mako wiped his nose on his sleeve and stamped out.

Bolin rolled over, wrapped himself up in the quilt and tried not to cry.

 

Lin got home a lot later than six o’clock, but he’d known she would be. He’d been helping with crowd control at the big public meeting for bending restoration, and it had been a madhouse. People desperate to get their bending back, other people desperate for them _not_ to have it back, journalists trying to cover the whole thing, police and troops trying to keep the whole thing under control without looking like brutal oppressors. In the end, the most they’d managed to do was set up a registration system for people wanting their bending restored. A lottery of the registered names would be drawn every day and a manageable number would be processed (the exact number to be determined over the first few days, as Korra worked out her limits).

‘Okay?’ Korra had shouted across the square outside city hall. Public speaking would probably never be her strong point. ‘So nobody can say it’s unfair who gets to go first. I want to help you all, but I can’t get everyone at once. I need you to be patient. I _will_ help everyone.’

A woman near the front had stuck her hand up at that, waving a folded umbrella. ‘Question! Question!’ she shouted, her voice so forceful that it rose above the general din.

‘Uh... could everyone please be quiet so the lady can ask her question?’ It took some time, but eventually enough people shut up that it was possible.

‘My question is, if you can restore bending to people who had it taken away, can you _give_ it to people who didn’t have it in the first place?’ The woman’s voice rang out so loud and clear Bolin wondered if she was an actress or a singer in real life.

‘I have no idea,’ Korra admitted. ‘I’ve never tried.’

‘If you want to help everyone, isn’t that what you should do? The opposite of what Amon did! Give _everyone_ bending, so it’s really fair!’

Then everyone was shouting, _yes she’s right, no she’s wrong, that would be utopia, that would be chaos, I don’t know why we’re shouting, stop thief, my grandmother has fainted, call an ambulance..._ in the end General Iroh had ordered the square cleared. The people had dispersed, but not without a lot of ugly looks at the United Forces soldiers, some of whom had their hands raised prepared to throw fire or water if necessary. Korra had settled on going indoors and restoring bending to police officers in the meantime, and found to her dismay that she could only do half a dozen before she felt exhausted and dizzy. She had had to sit down with her head between her knees and Mako rubbing her shoulders, while Asami (quietly impressing Bolin) fetched her a glass of water.

‘Maybe you’ll get stronger with practice,’ Mako suggested. ‘This is a new technique for you, and you haven’t been doing it long.’

‘I heard it took a lot out of Avatar Aang to take people’s bending away,’ Bolin offered. ‘And didn’t he invent that?’

Tenzin nodded. ‘Try not to worry about it, Korra. What you’re doing is almost unprecedented. Everyone should understand that.’

‘Did Aang ever give someone bending who didn’t have it before?’ Korra asked, sitting up straighter and sipping her water. ‘Do you think that’s possible?’

‘He never did to my knowledge. It’s true that seemingly impossible things happen from time to time, but it doesn’t fit with my understanding of bending as an innate quality.’

‘Even if you could, what would happen then?’ Asami asked. ‘You would never get any peace. You may be special, but one person can’t get around to every non-bender in the world. You have your work cut out just getting the disabled benders back to normal.’

‘I know,’ Korra said mournfully.

‘You’ll do fine,’ Mako told her, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at him gratefully, and Bolin heard Asami make a very quiet ‘tch’ noise. He could relate. He and she had left the meeting together, since she wanted to return to her house and see what condition it was in.

‘He’s Mister Supportive _now,’_ Asami said, digging her hands into her coat pockets. ‘Mister Undivided Attention.’

‘Do you want to hold Pabu? It’s hard to stay mad holding a fire ferret.’ In a way he wanted to tell Asami about the fight last night, but he thought it might only upset her. He wanted to put it behind him, and when he got an opportunity, to try to make up with Mako.

Asami accepted Pabu and held him in the crook of her arm.  He reached up with one paw and patted her chin, and she sighed, smiling in spite of herself. ‘Okay, he’s helping.’

The wall around the Satos’ house had been defaced, charred marks in the brickwork spelling out ‘EQUALIST SCUM.’ Asami winced when she saw it.

‘You know what?’ Bolin said. ‘We don’t need that.’ He slapped both hands onto the bricks and grated away their outer surface, leaving them raw-looking but unmarked. He blew the red dust off his hands and bowed to Asami.

‘Thank you.’

The garden looked all right, if obviously untended for a while. The front door of the house was locked, and Asami didn’t have a key on her, so they had to ring the bell, then, when no-one answered, trek around to the back of the house and try knocking at the tradesmen’s entrance. The door was opened by the Satos’ butler, who visibly blenched at the sight of Bolin.

‘Miss Asami,’ he said, bowing, ‘welcome home.’

The house was in disarray, because most of the staff had left. With Mr Sato on the run and his assets seized or frozen during the investigation, none of them were getting paid, and a few had tried to compensate themselves for lost earnings by taking home valuables. The butler alone had stayed out of an overwhelming sense of responsibility, though he had been keeping to the kitchen and his study, where he was sleeping on a camp bed, trying to give the appearance of the house being locked up and unoccupied, for fear of reprisals or looters. He had opened the door to Asami and Bolin because he could see them from a window, concealed behind the curtains. He was visibly exhausted, but seated them at the kitchen table and brought them tea, apologising for using crockery rather than the good porcelain, as he had been unable to prevent three housemaids making off with Asami’s mother’s tea set.

‘Please, Wei, sit down with us and have some tea yourself,’ Asami said. After a moment’s discomfort he obeyed, although he sat on the opposite side of the table. ‘First, I’m going to make sure you do get paid, for the weeks that were missed and from now on. I’m grateful for your loyalty, and the care you’ve taken of this place while I was gone.’

‘But so much is gone,’ he said, lifting his hands helplessly. ‘Half the silver... all the telephones... your mother’s tea service...’

‘Those are things,’ Asami said, shaking her head firmly. ‘They don’t matter like people matter. Besides, it’s not even a complete tea set. I broke two of the cups when I was little, and the teapot dribbles. My point is, will you please stay? I need someone I can count on.’

‘Of course I’ll stay. My only concern was that you would feel I’d let you down.’

‘You’ve done the opposite. I was afraid I’d get here and find no-one, or squatters.’ She gave him a warm smile. ‘We’re going to put things back together, Wei. I’ll go to the bank this afternoon and arrange for your salary to come from my account. Then we can look at things like new phones.’

She had cried a little, though, when she went up to her room and found that a small jewellery box had been taken. 

‘It - it’s just _things,’_ she repeated, sitting on the edge of her bed, Bolin sitting beside her and patting her hand. ‘But I had my mother’s rings in there.’

‘If you make a list of everything that’s gone and give it to the police, they can search for things, right?’

‘Come on, Bolin, I’m not going to ask them to check the pawnshops for my family jewellery when things are like this.’ She shook her head and wiped her eyes. ‘I just have to accept that they’re gone. There are lots of other things to remind me of her. She sewed the quilt we’re sitting on.’

‘It’s really nice.’ He’d wondered why Asami had this small quilt draped over the middle of a much bigger bed, but if you knew it was made for a child’s bed it made sense.

‘And I should care more about that, shouldn’t I?’ Asami asked, running her hand over the russet silk. ‘Something she made for me, because she loved me and wanted me to be warm and comfortable. I can sleep under it tonight.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to come back to Air Temple Island?’

‘I’d much rather be at home now. Will you come and visit me? I can’t promise you a lot of fun like when you stayed before, but it would be nice to have company.’

‘Sure. Like tomorrow? I’m not doing anything tomorrow.’

‘You don’t want to stay and have dinner here?’

‘I kind of slightly have a date tonight.’

‘Oh,’ Asami said, arching her eyebrows. ‘A Lin date?’

‘A metalbending lesson.’

‘A “metalbending lesson”,’ she repeated, making air quotes with her fingers.

‘She really does teach me metalbending! Let me show you.’ He spun the bracelet off his wrist and stretched it out to a thin hoop large enough to go over his head, then shrank it down to a ball.

‘That’s pretty cool. Why didn’t you tell Iroh you could do it?’

‘I... thought it was less embarrassing to say I just couldn’t metalbend than to say I’m a beginner and can’t do a damn thing with my arms tied behind my back.’ He made the black iron into a strip and started twisting it like a liquorice rope. ‘I don’t think this would really impress a royal military badass like him.’

‘Does it impress Lin?’ Asami leaned over on her elbow.

‘I hope so.’ 

‘That’s what matters, then. And you can wait till you can do something more dramatic and then impress Iroh, if you want.’

‘Do you think he was doing some of the fireworks last night? Those were amazing.’ He paused, then went on carefully. ‘While you were resting your eyes, Lin came by and sat with us for a while.’

‘That must have been romantic for you!’

‘She said something that really made me think. That the display wasn’t just a celebration, it was a show of firepower. To scare the remaining Equalists.’

‘Huh.’ Asami’s brows drew together. ‘Yeah, I could see that.’

‘Does it make any sense that I’m starting to feel sorry for them? The leftovers? I mean, Amon had them fooled, and they trusted him, and they must be feeling so confused and let down... and scared about what’s going to happen next...’

‘No, I know what you mean. I hate the methods they used, but I can believe they weren’t all bad people, not to start off with. And if there’s a big backlash now... well, it just makes things worse for the majority of non-benders again, whether they supported Amon or not.’ She flopped down on her back, looking up at the canopy of her bed, embroidered with constellations. ‘And of course, I’ll get some of the backlash too. No matter what I say or do, there are always going to be people who’ll say “she had to have known what her father was doing, and she was probably in on it”.’

‘But you captured him yourself - you turned him over to the authorities.’

She shrugged. ‘They could say I just decided to do that when I saw which way the tide was turning. Any way this goes, there are going to be a lot of people who think I’m a bitch. Either side can say I betrayed my father.’

‘Well, they’re wrong. I know you, and I know you’re a good, kind person.’ He leaned over and took her hand. ‘And I’ll tell that to anyone who criticises you. Hey, I’ll go on the radio and say it so everyone hears!’

‘Thank you.’ She gave him a small smile, and he saw her eyes were watery. 

‘I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry I said anything.’

‘No, I’m glad you did. All this is making it a lot clearer to me what I need to do.’ She squeezed his hand. 

‘What’s that?’

‘Well, remember when I took you to Boomies? Saying that since I have this money, I could use it to make someone else happy if I wanted to? I was being such a baby.’

‘I dunno, I appreciated it.’

‘I mean it was like a childish version of what I see I’ve got to do now. Not just give a friend a treat. I have to start really helping people, a lot of people. That’s the right thing to do, and it’s the only way to really clear my name.’

‘How do you want to do that?’

‘Well, I’m going to have to do some persuasive talking. It helps that they have Dad in custody now; he’s under control. I’m going to go to the council and ask to take over the business. Future Industries is one of the biggest employers in Republic City. Think of all those people, not just the house servants here, all the workers who haven’t been paid for weeks. Not to mention the economic impact if Future just drops out of the market - the Cabbage Crash was bad enough, but -’

‘That’s a little over my head,’ Bolin admitted. 

‘Well, some of it’s over my head too. I’m going to have to talk to some people who worked for my father and sound them out. Get advice.’ She sat up. ‘So I’ll go to the bank, and then I’ll make some calls. I’m sure I can use _their_ phone if I ask nicely. I’ll start _doing_ something instead of lying around feeling sad and angry, and I’ll try to make a difference.’

‘That’s a great idea. I’m behind you all the way.’

‘Gimme a hug so I don’t get scared of trying to do something so big.’ She threw her arms round his shoulders and pulled him in. ‘Bolin hugs are the best hugs.’

‘Thank you. I aim to please.’ He rested his cheek on her shoulder and squeezed her tight. It occurred to him how peculiar it was that here he was, with one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen, in her bedroom, on her bed, with his arms around her, and... actually, he couldn’t say there was _nothing_ sexy about it. Oops. That must be Mako’s fault, distorting things and putting ideas in his head. Yes, Mako’s fault. Asami’s hair was tickling his lips and he could feel her breasts pressed up to his chest, warm and soft, and she smelled all perfumey and he’d probably better let go now. _Play it cool play it cool play it cool._

‘Are you okay?’ Asami asked. ‘Because your breathing went all funny and your face is red.’

‘I’m sorry. I, ah, haha, I guess we’ve established that confident take-charge women are a huge turn-on for me, and, um, you know what I think I’m allergic to something! Something in your room! I’d better get out of here right now!’ He bounded up and she shoved him back down with a hand on his shoulder.

‘Sit down, dummy. What are you saying?’

‘I’m sorry, it was dumb, it was a physical thing, you were hugging me and you smell good and I felt funny but I promise I’m not going to try anything.’ He still had the liquorice strip of metal in his hand and he quickly wrapped it around his wrist, using the concentration that it required to calm himself down.

‘Good. Because an ex-boyfriend’s brother is no go as far as I’m concerned. Way too awkward. Besides, I know you’re crazy about Lin, so I’ll just take this as a compliment about how good I smell and not worry about it.’ Asami patted his shoulder reassuringly.

 

All that had been hours ago, and he was starting to feel less guilty and embarrassed about it, especially as the anticipation of seeing Lin again increased. He was sitting in her kitchen with a stack of takeout containers, listening to the radio. There had been a couple of spontaneous protests during the afternoon, both apparently led by the umbrella lady, whose name turned out to be Himeko Hato. He’d actually been right about her voice - she was a radio actress and played Nima in the serial _Undersea Kingdom._ She was getting people really worked up about this ‘everyone could be a bender’ idea. Tenzin came on for an interview, pointing out that there was no basis for thinking so, and in the current situation it was unhelpful for people without expertise to speculate. He sounded like the stick up his butt was lodged unusually high today, probably from the stress, poor guy. Bolin found himself wondering whether anything would get stuck up his own butt tonight. Who knew what Lin would want to do? He felt goosey all over at the thought of it.

Anyway, co-ordinating the response to the protests must have made her late, he supposed. The food was cooling off, but they could always stick the boxes in the oven for a few minutes once she got in, assuming he could figure out how to turn it on (or she knew, which seemed questionable). Or just ignore the food and go straight to bed. Now he thought about it, waiting in the kitchen was dumb; it was pretty far from the front hall and he might not hear when she came in. What if she already had, hadn’t thought to look in the kitchen for him, and was upstairs now or in the gym thinking he had stood her up? 

He jumped up and hurried out to the hall, and checked the closet; her coat wasn’t in it, but then, maybe she kept it in a wardrobe upstairs? Should he ask the maid, or not bother her? Well, _she_ knew he was here, because he had helped her nail up plywood to better cover some of the ground floor’s broken windows until a glazier could come, and if Lin came home presumably she’d meet her, so she could have told her, or Lin would ask her to go find him, or if Lin _wasn’t_ back yet he could save them both some trouble by being right here impossible to miss. He sat himself down at the bottom of the stairs and tried not to fidget, or at least to fidget productively by working on his bracelet.

He was feeling pretty clever, because he’d separated it into three strands and braided them, even if the braiding was a little lumpy and uneven, when the lock clicked and Lin came in. He bounced up and over to her.

‘Lin!’ He threw his arms around her and kissed her cheek. 

‘Whoa. This is like having a dog. Let me get my coat off, will you?’

‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ he said unnecessarily, standing back a little. ‘How was everything? Did you have a good day? I bet they were glad to have you back at HQ. I got dinner, it’s all ready. Fire Nation food this time, since you said you didn’t like Water Tribe, so I thought, okay, what’s the opposite of that, and I got us Admiral Zhao’s fish, because that’s _my_ favourite, and -’

She took hold of his shirt, pulled him in and kissed him firmly. ‘Baby, I’m _so_ tired. Can this wait until I’ve had a shower?’

‘Absolutely!’

‘I mean just me having a shower by myself. Wash off the day, then I’ll be ready for you. Okay?’

‘Okay... so you don’t want your back scrubbed?’

‘I have a loofah. It’ll work out somehow.’

‘Well... I’ll be in the kitchen...’

‘Actually, this isn’t like having a dog, it’s like having a wife. Neat.’ She patted him on the butt. ‘I’ll be down in fifteen.’

It was more like twenty, by his admittedly eager count, but that gave him time to figure out the oven and reheat the food a little. Lin came down in her dressing gown, with her hair still damp and fragrant, wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed the back of his neck. ‘How’s my boy?’

‘Really good.’ He twisted around on his stool to wrap his arms around her waist. ‘I’m a little tiny bit sad you didn’t want me in the shower with you, but here you are now so everything’s okay. Oh my goodness you don’t have anything on under this.’

‘What did you expect? Be patient, though; I want my dinner.’ She nudged past him and sat down, reaching for a carton. ‘Good choice, by the way.’

‘You look really beautiful.’

‘Hmm? What brought that on?’

‘You just do, and I realised I haven’t told you that a lot, and I should.’

‘Well, I think you should eat something. You’re a growing boy.’ She slid a carton of noodles over the table to him.

‘That’s what I keep telling people.’ He dug in happily. 


	6. Chapter 6

They ate for a while in a companionable silence, broken only by appreciative noises about the food and the occasional request to pass something. As usual when eating Fire Nation food, Bolin found he had to keep drinking milk to stop his mouth burning too badly. He kept glancing over at Lin, appreciating the deep green of her eyes, the way her damp hair curled a little at her temples, the way her dressing gown sometimes slid apart a little over her chest when she reached for things. She noticed him and dropped it down from her shoulder for a moment, shooting him a sideways glance, before pulling it back up.

‘Well now you’re just _teasing_ me.’

‘I just don’t think me pigging out on spicy noodles is anything to look so moony-eyed at.’

‘Well, if you were into you the way I’m into you, you really wouldn’t need me around, now would you?’

‘That is a good point,’ she said, pointing her chopsticks at him. ‘Now, did you tell Tenzin you were planning to spend the night here? Or is he expecting you home?’

‘He’s not my dad, you know.’

‘Since the age of about twenty, Tenzin has defaulted to acting like everyone’s dad,’ Lin said. ‘Or sometimes, like a mother hen. It’s just his way. And a lot of the time, people just automatically relate to him that way. You did tell him, didn’t you?’

‘Well... yeah, I told him that I was going to your place for a lesson, but you weren’t sure when you’d get home, so if we ran late I’d stay over, and you didn’t mind.’

‘Good. If we can make that a routine, we can spend time together without anyone thinking it’s funny.’ Her eyes smiled at him, and he felt a little warm blossom in his chest.

‘I had a really nasty moment last night when I thought Mako had figured it out, but it turned out he thought I was putting the moves on _Asami.’_

‘I did wonder about you two, all bundled up together. Then I thought perhaps I should just give you credit for a good camouflage job - although I don’t want you complicating things and making trouble for some poor girl by using her as a cover.’

‘Oh, no, I would never do that,’ Bolin said quickly. ‘Especially not to Asami, because I really like her. Um. Lin, I think I should tell you, I don’t think it’s ever going to be a problem but I want to be honest with you - Asami does know about us.’

‘ _Why_ does Asami know about us?’ Lin asked levelly.

‘Because I told her. After the first time, because I was feeling really mixed up about it and afraid I’d made a big mistake. I don’t feel that way any more, but I needed to talk to someone. I trust her - she wouldn’t tell anyone.’

‘Well, she’d better not. Think, Bolin! It’s not just a question of telling people. She could give us away accidentally. You haven’t told anyone else, have you?’

‘No, and don’t worry, I won’t.’

‘Good,’ Lin said, slightly appeased. ‘Well, she seems like a sensible girl.’

‘She really is. She’s so smart, and brave, and just really _cool._ It really bothered me, though, that Mako thought I would be moving in on her. He only just broke up with her - and in kind of a crummy way - and what kind of creep would I have to be to try that? Why would he think I’m like that?’

‘One of the first habits you have to get out of as an investigative officer,’ Lin said, ‘is judging other people by your own standards. Assuming they do things for the same reasons you would, assuming they’re capable only of the same things you are. Almost everyone does it, it seems to be natural. It’s why gentle, good people with little exposure to crime find it hard to understand why criminals behave the way they do, and why they’re often unnerved by the way police learn to think like criminals. It’s also why, when someone assumes someone else is doing something wrong, or for wrong reasons, that tells you something about _them.’_

‘I just don’t get when my sweet big brother turned into a jerk,’ Bolin said, dismayed. ‘I love him, and I know he loves me, and he’s never acted like this before. On the other hand, he never had a girlfriend before.’

‘You think it’s the girlfriend’s fault?’ Lin asked, pulling the tail off a shrimp and popping the meat into her mouth.

‘Not Asami’s fault or Korra’s. I mean, maybe this is how _he_ is with a girlfriend? Which really sucks. Loving someone should make you be a better person, not worse.’

‘Did you ever have a girlfriend?’ Lin asked, She sounded a little bit amused, and Bolin noticed she didn’t say ‘a girlfriend _before,’_ since she wasn’t including herself in that class.

‘Never anyone serious. I went out with plenty of girls, but never just one person for more than a few dates. It didn’t seem fair, unless I got serious about one of them.’

‘Fair? Because there was so much demand, and you had to share yourself around?’ She was half-smiling now.

‘Excuse me. You’re not the first person in the whole world to think I’m hot. We had a lot of fans, you know. I’m a popular guy.’

‘Okay. But I _am_ the one who popped your cherry.’

‘For which I thank you kindly.’ He gave her a little half-bow from the neck.

‘The first time is in no way the best time, but it is pretty special.’ Lin looked at him thoughtfully. ‘You were upset after the first time, though? Was it something I’d said or done?’

‘I was upset with myself. I felt kind of slutty and unfaithful. Asami calmed me down, though, and she kind of gave me permission to feel good about it, too.’

‘Who were you unfaithful to, if you didn’t have a girlfriend?’

‘I was hoping for Korra.’

‘Ahhhh. So I’m in second place to her, eh?’

‘No ma’am, you overtook her. I can only conclude that you wanted the win more.’

‘Well, I wanted _you.’_ She reached out and stroked his hair, combing her fingers down the side of his head and gently pinching his ear.

‘Um, Lin? Can I ask you, what was your first time like?’

‘Equal parts exciting and uncomfortable. That’s all I feel like saying about that.’ She wiped her lips with one of the cheap paper napkins that came with the takeout. 

‘I think mine was more exciting than uncomfortable, but I was really nervous.’

‘I thought you coped pretty well, and you were _so_ cute all flustered.’

‘And each time since then does get better, because I know what to expect enough to look forward to it and feel like I can handle it, but there are still surprises because you’re you.’

‘What are we going to do when I stop surprising you?’

‘I’m not worried about that. I mean - what you did at the fireworks, that freaked me out a little, but it was _so_ good.’

‘Well, it was a good thing nobody _was_ watching us, because you were turning colours and shivering and... well, you’ll probably learn to hide your feelings a little with time, but right now I love seeing them all right on the surface. You’re so _fresh.’_ She got to her feet, leant in and kissed him, licking a drop of sauce from his lower lip. ‘And now, I’d like to take you up to bed.’

‘No metalbending lesson?’

‘Oh, you sound so _disappointed._ No, not tonight, anyway. Unless you want to show me something new?’

‘I did this,’ he offered, holding up his wrist to show the braided bracelet. He’d wrapped it back around his wrist while he waited for her to finish her shower.

‘That’s good. It really is - you’re starting to play around and push what you can do.’

‘Oh, and look at this!’ He pulled the bracelet off and compressed it between his hands, then parted them. ‘Ta-daa!’

‘What is _that?’_

‘It’s a better butt! The heart one from before was kind of lumpy, but this one is nice, right? Perky, even cheeks?’

‘It’s lovely. Reminds me of yours.’

‘You can keep it if you want. I could just take another piece from the meteorite, right?’

‘Of course you _could,_ but _I_ gave you this one, so stop trying to give it back.’

‘Oh, I didn’t mean like that... I just want to give _you_ something.’

‘Give me the real one, and I won’t need the model.’

‘But you can’t keep the real one with you when we’re not together. I’m really attached to it.’

‘I don’t need anything to remind me of you, baby. You’re memorable. Come on.’ She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, leading him out of the kitchen. He stuffed the little chunk of metal in his pocket and followed her eagerly, watching the way her hips swayed as she climbed the stairs. She looked back at him, eyes smiling, and untied the belt of her dressing gown, letting it fall down from her shoulders, exposing her smooth back. She had a few newer bruises, but he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised to see that; he had a few of his own. Part of him wanted to protect her from ever getting banged up like that, but if he could do that she wouldn’t be Lin. The line of her spine was a sleek indentation that he wanted to trace with his tongue.

In her room she pulled him into her arms and kissed him, long and deep and slow, her jaw working lazily against his, while he slid his hands under her gown and stroked up and down her back, feeling his pulse deepen and heat bloom through him. She made a soft, throaty little sound, pressing close to him, and lowered her arms long enough to slip them out of her sleeves and drop the whole thing to the ground. 

‘Now you.’ She undid his shirt and his belt, tugging them off briskly and dropping them on the floor. He helped her with his undershirt, yanking it up over his head, and pulled her in to kiss again, joyfully, feeling her breasts against his bare chest. For just a moment he thought about how Asami’s had felt, bigger and softer through their clothes, but the comparison just wasn’t that interesting when Lin was right there and sucking his tongue. 

‘Lin...’ He tried to shuffle her back towards the bed, and she stepped back from him. 

‘Come on, then.’ She turned away and walked to the bed, climbing onto the foot of it on her hands and knees, looking back at him over her shoulder, eyebrows arched. He dived on after her with his heart thumping, rolled her over and kissed her greedily, sliding his hands down to grab her butt and lift her legs, back up her sides to squeeze her breasts.

‘That was one of the best things I’ve ever ever seen.’ He pushed up on his arms a bit, looking down at her. ‘You are gorgeous all over.’

‘Here.’ Her hand was on his head, and she drew him down, tipping back her head and offering the curve of her neck.

‘Here?’ He kissed just under her ear, tasting a trace of some kind of skin cream. Her skin was so warm, growing hot under her hair where his fingers were twining, and the scent of rosemary and mint from her shampoo was getting stronger.

‘Mmhmm... that’s right... go down, nice and slow. I love that... here.’ She nudged him to the base of her neck, just where it joined her shoulder. ‘Kiss... and suck... oh Bolin...’

‘Mmmm?’ He could feel her breathing faster as he nuzzled in, sealing his lips to her skin and kneading with his tongue. He worked his way round the base of her throat, sucking lightly. ‘Soon I’m going to know everything you like best... and I’ll make you come, and come, and come...’

‘Good plan,’ Lin breathed. ‘Oh...’ Down, over her chest, feeling her heart fluttering, drawing her nipple into his mouth and sucking, his tongue swirling in circles. Other side, wishing he could do both at once, massaging with his other hand. She was stroking his head, her fingers clutching in his hair, tugging. 

‘My problem is,’ he mumbled, ‘I want to lick you all over at the same time and I can’t.’

‘Your problem is you talk instead of licking. Oh... oh you lovely boy.’

He slid his hand down over her stomach and between her thighs, feeling his way in, parting the hair, still a little damp from her shower, plain water-wet instead of slick Lin-wet. _There_ was the first trace of Lin-wet, and he stroked over it, spread it as he spread her lips.

‘I love your little noises.’

‘What noises?’

‘These noises... squish, squish, suck...’

‘Oh, good... I’m just going to get squishier with you doing that.’

He sat up a bit, watching the way his fingers slipped into her, the flushed pink flesh and tangled dark hair. He’d noticed by now that there were even a few greys there, too. Lin’s eyelids fluttered and she sighed, the corners of her mouth curling. ‘It’s just... it’s beautiful.’

‘Psh...’

‘It’s _so_ beautiful. It’s like a... like a really sexy pink oyster.’

‘Pff - stop making me _laugh!’_

‘But it’s so cute when you can’t stop yourself! And I can _feel_ you laughing, inside here.’ He wiggled his fingers.

‘I’m not _cute,’_ she said, and squeezed them hard.

‘Maybe that’s the wrong word. I still like it.’ He stretched out again and kissed her, nuzzling, sliding his wet fingers up to stroke her clitoris. ‘Good? Little circles, right?’

‘So good... come here, baby.’ She undid his pants and tugged them down, smoothing her hands down over his hips, back up and in to cradle his cock. ‘Now you work me, and I’ll work you.’ He could feel her lazy smile against his lips and feel the purr in her voice. Her hands were strong, her palms damp, and she stroked him steadily.

‘Ohhh...’ He closed his eyes and breathed in sharply. She was nibbling his lower lip, and it was all he could do to stay calm enough to keep his fingers working properly. Little circles. ‘Lin... Lin I want...’

‘Just hold it a little longer... oh... oh, go faster now...’

‘You slow down, or I’m going to come...’

‘Good boy... oh, _yes..._ okay, now, hold still...’  She pushed him onto his back and climbed on, sinking down on his cock and pausing for a long moment with her back arched and her head tipped back. She looked so beautiful he could hardly breathe; his chest went all tight and he just stared. ‘Hold still...’ she murmured again.

‘Lin...’ He slid his hands onto her hips, kneading with his thumbs, and felt her squeeze him tight as she began to rock. ‘How do you _do_ that?’

‘Squeeze like I’m trying not to pee. You seem to like it.’

‘Are you doing it just for me?’ It went in waves, as she rocked up and down, squeeze and pull and release and slide, unbearably sweet.

‘No... ah... it gets me off too. It’s... uh... now move... oh... oh...’  She was pumping faster now, bouncing on him, her breathing heavy and ragged, a fierce smile spreading on her face. 

‘Oh - sorry!’ A deep shuddery climax rolled through him, and he went limp and blissful and dizzy beneath her. Lin rode him a little longer before sliding down onto him with a satisfied-sounding groan. He lifted his hands, shaky as they were, to stroke her back, and she kissed his shoulder. Their deep breathing was the only sound in the room; from outside, he could hear that it was raining. Her heart bumped against his, and he thought it was as if they were trying to touch each other. Lin moved a little, and the mattress creaked a little, and he wished it wouldn’t. There were such sweet little twitches in the muscles of his belly, thighs and butt. He just wanted to lie here and concentrate on those, and Lin’s warm weight.

‘I want to keep you,’ Lin said quietly. She pushed herself up with her arms, with a faint moan, and lifted her leg to roll onto her back beside him. ‘Hey.’

‘Hmm?’

‘You didn’t bring the little guy tonight.’

‘No... he’s been making friends with the Air kids... they feed him too much. He gets all farty.’

‘Mmhm. Then I’m glad you didn’t bring him.’ She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. ‘I’m going to pee, and then I’m going to get us something to drink.’

‘You’re a really good hostess.’ He rolled onto his hip, wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her back.

‘Let me up, baby, I’m bursting.’

‘Okay, but don’t be long.’ He lay and watched her walk to the bathroom, a little unsteadily, and listened, with a trace of embarrassment, to the sound of her peeing. The toilet was out of his line of sight but she hadn’t bothered to close the door. Well, a mixture; one trace embarrassment, one trace squirmy/turned on, even though he was surely too tired and well fucked to feel that way.

Lin came back out, bent to pick up her robe from the floor and wrapped herself up. She found her slippers and trod into them, and turned back a moment to look at him. The corner of her mouth quirked, and then she opened the door and went out. 

Bolin was beginning to feel cold and sticky, so he rolled out of bed himself, kicked his way out of his pants, and limped into the bathroom, where he had a long pee and a quick wipe with a wet washcloth. He gave himself a wink in the mirror and went back to bed, getting in under the covers, whatever Lin thought about that. She came back with a flask of sake and two cups.

‘It occurs to me I may be corrupting you even worse,’ she said, sitting down beside him. ‘Please tell me you’ve had a drink before.’

‘Of course I have,’ he said indignantly. ‘I mean, I’ve had a beer. And I’ve had some fizzy wine at that big reception thing.’

‘Okay. This is stronger, so we’ll just have one and see how you feel. The typical rookie mistake is to drink too much, too fast, and get sick or sleepy. Neither of which I want you to do.’ She poured a cup and handed it to him, then one for herself. 

‘Should we have a toast?’

‘I don’t know, should we?’

‘To making each other happy,’ Bolin suggested, holding up his cup. Lin nodded, and clinked hers against it. She took a sip and put the flask down on the bedside table, undoing her dressing gown with the hand she’d freed, balancing her cup on Bolin’s chest while she slid it off.

‘Now,’ she said, settling herself cross-legged and picking up her cup again, ‘I feel like I should give you _some_ kind of metalbending lesson. If only so you don’t have to outright lie.’

‘Yeah, but what? Are you going to show me how to handcuff myself to the bed?’ He gave her a cheeky grin and sipped his drink, which made his mouth burn a little, but he managed to swallow without doing anything uncool like choking.

‘Show me your bracelet again.’ 

‘I think it’s in my pants pocket.’ He gave her his cup and hung over the side of the bed to claw the pants off the floor.

‘Stay just like that while I appreciate the view.’

‘Oh, come on, I’ll show you my ass any time.’ He sat up and dug the chunk of metal out of the pocket. ‘Sorry, it isn’t braidy any more.’

‘Well, I’m going to teach you something better than braids. This is how to make a chain. Watch carefully.’ She put her cup on his chest again, now that he was lying back down, and worked the metal between her hands.

‘Lin?’

‘Hmm?’

‘I sort of thought that when they were in bed, like, after having sex, girls would keep themselves covered up with the sheets, but you don’t.’

‘Maybe because I’m not a girl.’

‘I mean that I appreciate the view, too.’

‘Do I have to put something on to make you concentrate on the lesson?’

‘Well, we never did a _naked_ lesson before.’ He put his hand on her knee.

‘I’m taking your drink away.’ She moved the cups to the table and lay down beside him. ‘Bolin. Focus. This is really neat. You see, you tease out a little link, and as you bring it away from the metal, you begin another, hooked through it. There. Right? See if you can do one.’

‘Mine’s going to be all big and blobby, though.’

‘But you’re getting so _good_ at delicate fingering. There, now aren’t you glad I took your drink? If you’d had a sip in your mouth just then you would have sprayed it everywhere.’

‘Okay,’ Bolin said, wiping his eyes, ‘I’m going to try. Here goes.’

‘Remember, keep it small and subtle. I know it goes against the grain for an earthbender, but it’s so important in metalbending. You know what it’s a little like? Blowing a soap bubble. Blow too hard, and it’ll pop. Don’t blow enough, and nothing happens.’

‘That sounds suspiciously airbendy to me.’

‘Maybe a little. That’s good. Draw it out. Just like that. Now before you take it any further, before you separate it, you need to start the next link and loop it through. There, you’ve got it. Now keep going. Keep them small and even.’

‘This is hard work,’ Bolin complained, squinting at the links between his fingers, which felt far too thick and blunt for this. His two links weren’t quite as smooth as Lin’s, but they weren’t much bigger, at least.

‘Keep going. Make ten more links, and you can have your drink back.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Do you always poke your tongue out when you’re concentrating?’

‘Thut up.’

‘It’s pretty damn cute.’ She watched him, her head pillowed on her arm, and silently counted out the links as he made them, holding up and then folding down the five fingers of her other hand. At link number six, he had one of those strange, exhilarating breakthroughs that sometimes came in bending. The image that always came to mind was the sliding door of a room he and Mako had shared for a while with an old man who let them stay in return for chores; he must have been seven or eight. The door had been the stiffest damn thing, screeching, grating and resisting every time you tried to open or close it. One day, for no reason he could recall, he had had a brainwave. He stood facing the edge of the open door, held it between his palms, lifted and jiggled it until he got it back into the groove it was supposed to run in, instead of half out of it. Suddenly it ran so smoothly that opening and shutting it counted as fun, and he’d played with it until the old guy yelled at him for letting the heat in from outside. It still got out of its track sometimes, especially if you pulled or pushed it too hard, but he knew how to fix it after that.

So whenever he suddenly got the hang of something, he felt he’d got it into its track. He wasn’t pushing and pulling against grating friction, he was moving the thing _the way it was made to be moved._ The links of the chain flowed out, ten, twenty, the chunk of metal in his other hand diminishing as he spun it out, delighted with himself.

‘Check it out!’

‘I knew you’d get it if I kept you at it,’ Lin said, a little smugly.

‘Man, I could be a jeweller!’

‘Not working in iron, you couldn’t - but I think I have some silver. Hold on.’ She rolled off the bed and went to her bureau, retrieving a small ingot from a drawer.

‘You just keep slabs of precious metal lying around?’

‘It’s old,’ Lin said, shrugging and dropping it on his belly as she sat down again. ‘When I was a kid I was always messing around making chains and rings and earrings. You know who I used to do this with? Not the naked in bed part, I hasten to add. Avatar Aang. That was his little hobby, when he wasn’t saving the world; he made jewellery for his friends and family.’

‘That’s pretty cool,’ Bolin said. He rolled the silver in his hand, getting a feel for it. He had a feeling a story might be coming on, and didn’t want to interrupt it.

‘I always liked working with silver,’ Lin said thoughtfully. ‘It feels cool and smooth. Like moonlight and water. Gold is warmer. There’s a bit of fire in gold.’

‘So did Aang metalbend jewellery?’

‘No, he liked to make it by hand. Well, you’re using your hands, of course, but you know what I mean. While I worked in metal, he’d knot and weave threads, and string beads. We could do that for hours, just showing each other our work from time to time. I loved that. That was the thing about Aang: he had time for everyone. He really did. And while he was with you, he made you feel so special. There are a lot of politicians who can do that, of course, it’s a technique; they flatter you with their focus, but when they move on, they’re gone. Not him, though. He was such sweet-natured man, and he really, truly was interested in _everyone._ Knowing that someone as special and important as him loved me, and thought I was special, meant so much to me then.’ She paused, twining the iron chain between her fingers.

‘I think one reason I found it so hard to accept Korra as the Avatar,’ she went on, her voice a little distant, ‘was that I don’t see that in her. That... gentle greatness. She might have another kind of greatness, but I suppose a part of me always hoped that when another Avatar came, if I met him or her, I would feel Aang’s presence. And of course it’s not like that. I do accept her now, for what she is.’

‘She’s pretty awesome.’ Bolin felt he should stick up for her in her absence.

‘But she’s so green, and rash, and... well, obviously I’m still a little inclined to judge her by Aang standards. And he was exceptional anyway; I’m thinking of what he achieved when he was _twelve_ and feeling resentful that a girl of sixteen isn’t that wise and balanced. She’s probably actually far more representative of the general run of Avatars. There have even been a few duds.’

‘Dud Avatars?’

‘Oh, they’re not talked about a lot. Avatar Bren died when he was seventeen. Slipped on the soap in his bathroom and broke his neck. Avatar Kwi inadvertently _started_ a war with some stupid comments that she wouldn’t back down from - she managed to make peace in the end, but it took years for the nations to fully recover. Some historians say Avatar Roku was a dud, since he didn’t deal effectively with Fire Lord Sozin, and that’s why we had a hundred years of war. Anyway. They’re just human beings, and Aang was too. He was just an unusually lovely one.’

‘Do you think maybe she’ll be able to give everyone bending, like Himeko Hato says?’

‘No idea, baby, but my gut says probably not. It’s not Korra’s fault; I just don’t think bending works that way. Ms Hato should stick to acting.’

‘Lin?’

‘Yeah?’

‘If I made you something from the silver, would you keep it?’

‘I might.’

‘Okay. Don’t look. I want to surprise you.’ He rolled away from her, screening what he was doing with his back. It was easier now, but it still took a lot of care and concentration.

‘Is it a little silver model of your dick?’ Lin asked innocently. ‘I’d like that a lot.’

‘No, it is _classy.’_ Bolin looked carefully at what he’d made, decided it was as good as he could get it, and a lot better than he would have been able to make just the day before. He rolled over and offered it to Lin on the palm of his hand, a thin silver chain with a small pendant on it, a little silver disc stamped with the character ‘lin.’ ‘I kept it simple. I didn’t think you’d want anything too fancy.’

‘So I don’t forget my name?’

‘It’s the “lin” in your name, but in my name too. It stands for both of us.’ He took the chain in his two hands and parted the ends. ‘Can I put it on you?’

Lin looked at the pendant gravely for a long moment, then turned her back and lifted her hair off her neck with one hand. ‘Go ahead.’

He draped the chain around her neck and joined its ends at the nape. ‘There’s no catch. But I guess you can get it off if you want to.’

‘I think I’ll keep it,’ Lin said quietly. ‘It’s kind of pretty.’


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels so weird to me because THERE'S ACTUALLY PLOT. Which could be a huge mistake.

It was _such_ a good night, even if they didn’t get anything like enough sleep. Bolin felt like a wreck when he woke up, but a happy one. He lay hugging a pillow, with Lin hugging his back, breathing softly in her sleep, and took stock of all the places where he ached (left knee, right nipple, both jaw hinges, _butt),_ concluding that he didn’t regret a damn one of them. 

Lin groaned and burrowed her face into the back of his neck. ‘Issixoclock,’ she grumbled.

‘How’ju know?’ he asked.

‘I always wake up at six. Habit.’

‘Sleep in today.’

‘Can’t. Going in to HQ. Want to get reinstated, can’t slack off.’ She sat up and scrubbed her hands through her hair. ‘You okay?’

‘Mmhm. Sore in spots. Just stay in bed a little bit longer. Five minutes. Snuggle time.’

‘Come on, I don’t snuggle.’ She let him pull her back down, though.

‘Yeah you do, you snuggle down under your big warm human blanket.’ He draped himself over her and kissed her cheek.

‘You can come in the shower with me. How’s that?’

‘I hope I _do_ come in the shower with you. I hope you come too. How’s _that?’_

‘How can you be this frisky this early?’

‘The usual. Your hotness. Your _advanced_ hotness.’

‘Okay... that’s a good answer. Let me up, baby.’ She pushed him off her, relatively gently, and led the way to the bathroom. In the shower, she let him slide into her from behind, holding her hips as she leaned against the wall. His legs shook so much as he came that he had to lunge over and grab the tap to hold himself up, and Lin laughed at him, affectionately.

‘Good, though?’

‘Damn good.’ She pushed her butt back against him before straightening up and twisting to face him. ‘I’m wide awake now. Ready to face the day and kick some asses.’

‘People are going to say, damn, Chief Beifong is looking good today. Roses in her cheeks.’

‘What’s her secret?’ She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him firmly, the hot water streaming down their faces. 

‘Same time tonight? Come over and bring you dinner?’

‘I’d love it, but I think we’d better not. Too obvious.’ She kissed his nose apologetically.

‘Awwww!’

‘And I think you’d better leave by the back door. The neighbours see you too many times...’

‘Loyal student, wise teacher, daily lessons...’

‘Uh-uh, baby. Wait a day. And you can’t always stay over. I know it’s a long way back to the island, and you have to get the ferry and things, so maybe I could help you with an apartment in town? Then sometimes I could come see _you.’_

‘I don’t know... I feel weird about it. Staying with you is one thing, but letting you pay for a place... I mean, for Mako too?’

‘No... come on, we couldn’t be together there if he lived there too. We do enough sneaking around already. I don’t want to have to play get-Mako-out-of-the-house-so-I-can-fuck-Bolin.’

‘Well, maybe that wouldn’t be too hard, I mean, he’s got a girlfriend now...’

‘Worse, then, he’d want to bring _her_ over, and we’d have to sneak around both of them.’ Lin stepped back and picked up the shampoo bottle. ‘We can talk it over later. Let’s get clean for now.’

 

He had the smell of mint and rosemary with him when he left the house, pattering down the back steps and through the gate to the alley between houses. He had his coat collar turned up, his hands tucked in his pockets, and Lin had given him a thick, soft grey-green scarf to wear too, in lieu of Pabu. Last night’s rain had filled the gutters with mud and ice; it was turning sharply cold again, with snow clouds overhead.

The city was just waking up. It looked a little dumpy, with piles of debris still scattered along many streets, but at least the broken glass had been cleared up. While he walked down to the harbour, he saw United Forces work crews marching up, carrying tools. General Iroh was at the head of one group, just as if he were an ordinary guy instead of a super royal military badass. Bolin almost walked past him with a thanks-you-guys wave before he recognised him and skipped back.

‘Hey! General! Hey, sir, good morning, how are you?’

‘Oh - good morning, Bolin.’ Iroh smiled hesitantly. ‘You don’t have to salute. We’re not in a chain of command.’

‘Yeah, but aren’t you a prince?’ Bolin asked, keeping pace with him.

‘Firstly, I’m not _your_ prince; secondly, you don’t salute princes.’

‘Can we high-five princes?’

‘What for?’

‘Well, what’re you doing today?’

‘Clearing rubble on Fifth Street.’

‘High five! Good deed!’ Bolin held up his hand. Iroh shook his head, but slapped it. ‘I’ll come help. You could use an earthbender, right?’

‘We do have several.’

‘An earthbender with local knowledge! I lived in a doorway on Fifth Street for like three weeks once. That was a pretty choice spot.’

‘You... do have a home now, don’t you?’ Iroh asked, looking concerned.

‘Well, technically no, but I’ve got a place I can stay. Actually two places I can stay. Maybe three if I asked Asami nicely. Anyway, home’s relative, right? I can be at home anyplace. I’ll help you clear Fifth, then we can go to Korra’s re-bendy thing at city hall. They’re drawing the first names at ten.’

‘Well,’ Iroh said, shrugging, ‘I can hardly say no.’

 

They were good and dirty by the time they reached city hall, and Bolin was starving, although he felt like he’d done a good deed that morning. Fifth Street was clear and he thought he’d managed to look like slightly less of a doofus to Iroh, even if he hadn’t had a chance to show him any cool metalbending. Fortunately, food vendors had shown up in anticipation of a crowd, and he was able to buy a bag of hot meat buns to hold him over. The crowd was huge, but restrained, everyone staring earnestly towards the steps where they expected to see Korra soon. 

‘Youwangabung?’ he asked Iroh, with his mouth full. ‘Vey’realghygoog.’

‘I don’t want to take your food.’

‘I’m not a starving street urchin. Come on, try one. Yum yum yum.’ He waggled the warm, crumpled bag under Iroh’s nose. ‘Accept my humble hospitalityyyyy,’ he wheedled. ‘Or my hobo pride will be wouuuuuuuunded.’ It wasn’t exactly his own hospitality, anyway. Lin had given him some money for last night’s takeout, with a little extra, saying it was for travel expenses. 

‘Thank you,’ Iroh said, accepting one and tasting it. ‘Um.’

‘Good, right?’

‘Interesting. What kind of meat is this?’

‘I think it’s mostly pig.’

‘Pork?’

‘Pig.’

‘This isn’t a line of questioning I should pursue, is it?’

‘Secret of a happy life.’ Bolin beamed and stuffed another bun in his mouth. ‘Oongfh! Kowwa!’ The doors had opened and she was walking down, flanked by Tenzin and Mako, who was carrying a large box. They were followed by police officers, who spread out to take up lookout positions.

‘Interesting choice,’ Iroh said, thumbnailing a bit of gristle out from between his front teeth. ‘By coming out ahead of any guards, she shows trust for the people.’

‘Well, of course,’ Bolin said. ‘Also, come on, if anyone takes a shot at her, she’s the Avatar. She’ll be like SPLOOSH whiiieeeeeeewwww THOOM THOOM THOOM FRAAAAAAH.’

‘Good morning,’ Korra said into the podium microphone. ‘We’ve brought the box containing all the application slips so you can see us draw the first six names. Six more names will be drawn at noon, then two, then four. There may be another draw at six, but we’ll have to confirm that later in the day. At least twenty-four people will get their bending back today.’

A murmur ran through the crowd, and an umbrella shot up in the air on the end of a very determined-looking arm.

‘Ms Hato...’ Korra sighed.

‘Amon disabled _hundreds_ of benders, one after the other, in a matter of hours.’

‘I know. But I presume he’d had a lot more practice than I’ve had. Maybe restoring bending is just harder than taking it away. I don’t know.’

‘Have you thought of simply reversing his method?’

‘First, I don’t know _what_ his method was, so that’s not simple. Second, that would require bloodbending, and I’m not about to do that. I’ve never learned the technique, and the moon’s wrong anyway.’

‘Just let her draw the names,’ someone else shouted.

‘She’s not even a bender!’ a further someone else called out.

‘That doesn’t mean I don’t have a voice!’ Himeko Hato shouted back.

‘Lady, all you’ve got is a voice.’ There was some sniggering at that, but Korra seized the opportunity to take back control.

‘Everyone, quiet, please. I’m going to draw the first names, and if it’s you, you’ll want to be able to hear when I call them out.’ That hushed everyone pretty quickly, and she sank her arm into the open box, drawing out one slip of paper after another until she had six. She held them up to be clearly seen, then stepped over to the microphone and carefully read the names aloud, stumbling over the pronunciation of one or two. Around the square, shoulders slumped as the majority of benders gathered realised it was not their turn today. The six lucky ones threaded their way forward. 

There should have been a mood of celebration as Korra restored each one’s abilities, and they briefly tested their bending for all to see, but the atmosphere was discontented and anxious. 

‘Everyone is thinking “Why not me? Why does it have to take so long? And what will I do until my turn?”’ Iroh murmured.

‘I’m worried about Korra.’ Bolin thought she looked wobbly, and Mako must have thought so too because he stepped in to hold her elbow, then helped her back up the steps into the hall.

‘Want to go and check on her?’ Iroh asked.

‘Yeah - you coming?’

‘I think I should.’ Together they edged through the crowd and round to a side entrance Bolin remembered from last time, where it turned out that being a general was much more effective for getting past security than the phrase ‘I’m totally on Team Avatar.’

Korra was lying on a bench with her head on Mako’s lap, looking peaky and getting her hair stroked. She looked up and smiled a bit when Bolin knelt down beside her.

‘Hey. Want a bun?’ He offered her the bag.

‘Oh heck yes!’ She hooked one out and stuffed it in her mouth. ‘I’m ftarfing.’

‘Want me to go get you some Water Tribe grub?’

‘Would you? That would be _so_ good.’ 

‘Yeah. Have another bun, I’ve got one more.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me you wanted something to eat?’ Mako asked.

‘I didn’t know till I smelled Bolin’s buns.’

A small undignified sound came from the general direction of Iroh, who was certainly not laughing when they turned to look at him, and quickly excused himself to deal with serious royal military badass business.

Bolin spent most of the day on Avatar Snack Duty, hanging out with her in between re-bending sessions. First, though, for peace of mind, he had to corner Mako, which he managed to do when he went to the bathroom, by lurking outside the stall and hugging him as soon as he came out.

‘What the hell, man. I have toilet hands,’ Mako said, holding his arms out stiffly.

‘I know, but I’m really sorry I fought with you and I want us to be cool again.’

‘Yeah, okay, we’re cool.’ Mako hugged back, with his wrists bent away from Bolin.

‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, kiddo.’ Mako gave him a squeeze, then added ‘I really want to wash my hands.’

‘Yeah, that’s fine, you can wash ‘em now.’

That was a huge weight off him. He could relax and concentrate on making Korra laugh, as well as showing her his new metalbending tricks, making flowers out of empty tin cans he had picked up as he walked to and from the Water Tribe restaurant.

‘That’s so _neat,’_ she said, examining a tin daffodil. ‘Once all this is sorted out, you have to teach me.’

‘I don’t really know if I could teach it yet. I’m still figuring stuff out. I mean, I just invented this because I was kicking a can and wondered if I could make something out of it, and when I sorta peeled a piece out of it, it looked like a flower petal to me.’ He turned the tin rose he was working on in his hands, wondering whether this was the kind of thing Lin would appreciate, or just laugh at. Maybe both?

‘Well, maybe Lin will give me lessons too, if I ask nice enough. How did you talk her into it?’

‘I didn’t. She picked me. Remember she sent that letter? Actually, maybe you don’t; you were pretty beat up just then.’

‘She had other things to worry about,’ Mako pointed out.

‘I wonder why I thought you asked her?’ Korra said. ‘Anyway, I’m not surprised the flowers are your invention. Lin does _not_ seem like a making-pretty-flowers kind of lady.’

‘She’s _so_ cool. If you hadn’t been able to fix her bending, she was going to go back to badgermole basics and invent it all over again. She totally could, too.’

‘May I see that?’ Tenzin had come over from the table where he had been sorting through what looked like unconscionable quantities of paperwork. 

‘Sure.’ Bolin handed over the finished rose.

‘This is very fine work. How long have you been learning?’ Tenzin counted back on his fingers. ‘Your progress is extraordinary.’

‘Well, I’ve got the best teacher.’

‘Lin learned from Toph, who was widely considered the greatest earthbending master in the world, and at the time, the only metalbending master. It took her months to develop fine control like this, though.’

‘Really?’ Bolin said, taken aback. ‘Wow. I guess I’m a prodigy. Hey Korra, prodigy-five!’

‘Prodigy-five!’ She slapped his hand hard.

‘There’s still lots of things I don’t know, though. I haven’t done anything with wires. So far I just make cute stuff,’ Bolin explained, taking back the rose and adjusting the curl of one petal. ‘Lin didn’t say anything about it - I mean, she said I’m doing a good job, but nothing about it being unusual. Maybe she just didn’t want me to get a big head.’ He looked up at Tenzin, puzzled. ‘You look kind of worried. Isn’t this just good?’

‘Anything unexpected worries Tenzin,’ Korra said, smiling and rolling her eyes.

‘He _is_ a really fast learner,’ Mako offered. ‘It took me a lot longer to become a confident firebender than he did with earthbending - I suppose because I was always nervous about burning people by accident. And because he always enjoyed playing in mud.’

‘Well, mud is great for putting out fires and cooling off burns. So I used to stand by and help if he needed me to,’ Bolin added to Korra. ‘Mud at the ready!’

‘I guess mud is kind of a waterbending/earthbending crossover.’

‘Yeah, it is - I mean, I can’t move the water itself but I can scoop it up and keep it contained with the earthy parts. And I’ve seen a few guys do stuff with sand or dust that worked _like_ airbending in some ways. There are all sorts of workarounds you can figure out, it’s really cool.’

‘One time I got into a fight and I was beat up so bad I couldn’t walk home, and Bolin was too little to carry me, so he rolled me home by making a little wave in the street that kept rolling me over. That was pretty smart.’

‘Yep!’ Bolin said proudly.

‘Of course, by the time we _got_ home I was completely covered in mud and poop and gum wrappers, but I appreciated the effort.’

‘At least I could earthbend the mud off you. I never had any luck with poop, though, even though I guess it’s close to earth in a lot of ways, so I just had to pour some buckets of water over him in the yard.’

‘Aargh. You just made me imagine poo-bending. Please don’t do that again,’ Korra protested.

‘And please don’t _ever_ mention the possibility in front of Meelo,’ Tenzin said, shuddering and returning to his table.

 

One more thing that inclined Bolin to think he was actually in love with Lin now was how much he was missing her today; how much it bothered him not to have a night together to look forward to, not to even hear her voice. He kept thinking about sneaking off to use a telephone, maybe find her number at police headquarters in some official important people directory, but how would he explain it if anyone walked in on him? Anyway, he didn’t think Lin would actually be pleased if he did that. More likely she’d tell him off and hang up.

On the other hand, wouldn’t it be awesome if she wanted to talk? He kept on daydreaming like that, off and on, all afternoon. In the end he did find a phone and a directory, but looked up the Sato number, and found that it worked. Wei answered and brought the phone to Asami.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘How’s it going?’

‘We’re all good here. You’re phoned up again, right?’

‘Yep. Big shopping trip. Where is “here”?’

‘Oh, city hall. I’m helping Korra. It’s kind of crazy out there, people milling around, and that Hato lady keeps making speeches.’

‘Maybe I should come down.’

‘It’d be good to see you.’

She arrived not long after that, pulling up to the side door on her moped. Bolin went down to meet her, and together they went out into the crowded square, where Himeko Hato and some associates had built a small podium out of boxes, and the actress was just clambering to the top of it to speak. She opened and tilted her umbrella, which was lacquered bright red and gave the effect of a red circle framing her head and shoulders, like a daylight spotlight. 

‘Ladies and gentlemen! Brothers and sisters! Benders and non-benders!’ she began.

‘Will you let someone else speak?’ a voice in the throng rang out. ‘You’ve given two speeches already.’

‘Absolutely! All kinds of voices should be heard!’ Himeko answered, quickly recovering from an extremely annoyed expression. ‘Come on up, brother!’ She was given a hand down by two supporters, and a man climbed to the top of the boxes.

‘Hey, I know him,’ Bolin said. ‘He’s that guy who used to give Equalist speeches in the park. Korra and Mako had to shake him down for information when I was kidnapped. I’m surprised he’s not locked up.’

‘Some of you know me,’ the speaker said. ‘You know I’m someone who stands up and speaks for what he believes in. You know I believe in equality. And I believed in Amon. I want to say now, and I admit I’m saying it while the Avatar is resting, so she can’t come out here and beat me down the way she did the last time we met: I still believe in equality. Equality is an idea bigger than any man or woman who stood up to represent it. Justice is still justice, because a pure idea can’t lie to us or wear a disguise or create a fake backstory to win our sympathy or admiration. We got onto a wrong track with Amon. That doesn’t mean equality is wrong. We can’t give up now!’

One of the first six whose names were drawn that morning stepped forward, a thickset man with eyebrows and ears riddled with scar tissue. He stamped one foot and drove a heavy cobblestone into the air, hovering it in front of his chest, low enough that the police posted around the square couldn’t see it over everyone’s heads. ‘Sit down and shut up, Equalist,’ he growled.

‘I can’t. I won’t. Everyone, can you _see_ this? Could the oppression be much more obvious? No sooner does this man get his powers back, than he’s using them to try to silence me! Sir, you could smash that stone through my head right now, and you’d shut _me_ up, but you’d harden a hundred hearts against you. We have to _deal_ with this!’

‘Simmer down,’ Bolin called out, shouldering his way over toward the angry bender. ‘You want to bring the police down on you?’

‘The police should lock up this Equalist! People like him almost destroyed this city! You’re on _his_ side?’

‘We know you!’ someone yelled. ‘That’s Bolin! The Fire Ferret!’

‘You’re an Equalist now?’

‘I’m a let’s-not-mess-this-place-up-any-more-than-it-already-is-alist,’ Bolin protested. ‘Just put the rock down, okay, man? And sir, maybe you should get down, just to be safer?’

‘I’m not getting down for him!’ the Equalist snapped. ‘I will not be silenced!’

‘Will you let someone else take a turn speaking?’ 

It was Asami, half way up the stack of boxes. The speaker turned to look at her for a long moment, before nodding.

‘Yes. I’d like to hear what you have to say.’

‘Thank you.’ She climbed to the top box as he stepped down, and lifted her voice to carry over the crowd. ‘I think you know who I am, too. If you don’t, I’m Asami Sato, and my father is Hiroshi Sato. I know some of you think I must have known what my father was doing, and either supported it or didn’t care enough to stop it. That’s not true, but the only way I can prove it to you is with the way I act from now on.’ She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts, and a low grumble rose from the crowd. Bolin couldn’t tell if it was negative or positive, though he thought he made out a few people telling each other to shut up and hear what she was going to say. He kept his eyes warily on the man with the cobblestone, who still hadn’t set it down, although he had lowered his hands slightly.

‘When the gentleman before me was speaking, he said something that made a few things click together in my head,’ Asami went on. ‘About _representing._ Amon was a false representative for equality. He was a bender, and a highly skilled and dangerous one. He took over a movement that should have belonged to non-benders, and corrupted and perverted it. Maybe he had good intentions at the start, maybe he really thought that he had the best way to bring about equality, but that wasn’t for him to do. Was it? And I thought more, just now, about _representation._ Looking up at city hall, I realised that I can’t remember, in my life, any non-benders being on the council. There used to be. We all read about Sokka in the history books, and we have his statues in front of Boomerangs and the library. Non-benders used to have a respected voice in this city. When did that change? I don’t know, I need to look it up. But we have got to have representation for non-benders, or how will things ever change for the better? Really change, not through violence or cruelty, which is what taking bending away is - change through the law. So, um.’ She stopped and pressed her lips together, as if just catching up to how much she’d already said and a little thrown by it. ‘So I think our city council should have five members, not four. I think there should be guaranteed representation for non-benders. What do you think?’

The grumble rose into a roar. Some people were cheering and whistling, but others were shouting furiously. Some were calling Asami an Equalist, some a bender-lover. The man with the cobblestone hurled it at her, and Bolin was only just in time to knock it away with another. That was the last clear thing before the riot broke out. All he could focus on now was Asami scrambling down from the podium, and trying to reach her. He flung an arm around her and hauled the stones of the square up and over them like a tortoise shell. They huddled in muddy-smelling darkness, hearing missiles bounce off the stones, screams and shouts coming through the chinks in between, the roaring of flames and the hiss of water.

‘You really don’t have to protect me like this,’ Asami said.

‘I know, but I want to. Humour me?’

‘Okay.’ She relaxed against him a little. 

‘That was incredibly gutsy and I thought you made a good point, but maybe your timing wasn’t so great.’

‘If I waited for the right time I might be waiting forever,’ she said, and shrugged, her shoulder rubbing against his chest. ‘Are you okay? I can smell burnt hair.’

He patted the side of his head, which did feel hot, and found his hair was crisp and frizzled. ‘Man, I didn’t notice that. I’m okay. It’s only hair. Maybe like a sunburn.’

‘Okay.’ He felt Asami flinch as something heavy crashed against their shield. 

‘It’s all right. The rocks are locked together. I’m not going to let anything through.’ Then he felt her rest her head on his shoulder, and her hair brush against the side of his neck. _Oops, no, think of Lin, think of Lin, no_ don’t _think of Lin, I’ll get a boner and she might feel it, aargh._ For something safe to say, he raised his voice over the noise and said ‘I liked what you said about Sokka. I always liked that statue in front of the library, how he’s holding out a book for anyone to read. I felt like he was inviting me in, when I was a kid. See, sometimes when Mako had to go out to work, he’d drop me off there because it was a safe place. At first I just looked for warm places to nap, but there was this really nice librarian in the children’s room who did story-time every day, and she helped me learn to read, even though I didn’t go to school, so I could still learn stuff. And you know that kids’ book Sokka wrote about their adventures when they were young? That was one of my favourites.’ He tried to stop babbling, and bit his lip.

 _‘True Adventures of the Aang Gaang?’_ Asami asked. ‘Yeah, I liked that one. Especially the brave girls who weren’t benders. Yue, and Suki.’

‘Yeah, he was so in love with them, wasn’t he? How brave and smart and good they were. I used to think man, if I could find a girl like that, I’d be set for life.’

‘You kind of have,’ Asami pointed out.

‘Well, except that she’s not exactly a girl.’ The shell shook, grit and pebbles pattering down on their heads and shoulders, and he made some adjustments to tighten it up. 

‘I’m a girl,’ Asami said, and he felt his face go flaming hot before she continued, ‘but I’m also a warrior... no, the other way around, that was what Suki said, I’m a warrior but I’m also a girl.’

‘And he put that bit at the end, which Mako thought was preachy when I read it to him, but I really dug it, I read it so many times I think I can remember the words. _If I could give one piece of advice to boys reading this book, it would be to treasure and respect the girls and women in your life, whether they’re your mothers, sisters, friends, sweethearts or whatever. They’re different from you, not always in the ways you might think, but they are just as capable of being completely awesome. Don’t think that to be a real man you need to look down on anything womanly. That was my mistake and I’m glad I got to grow out of it.’_

‘And if he could give a second piece of advice, it would be to get a boomerang,’ Asami added with a gentle laugh. He felt the puff of it against his neck, and he felt all squirmy.

The sounds of the riot were dying down; it sounded as if the police response was succeeding. Maybe Lin was even out there, in charge, kicking asses and taking names. Or Iroh, at the head of his United Forces, that was a more neutral thought, even if he supposed he did have kind of a doofy crush on him. ‘So, yeah,’ he said, ‘I think that’s probably where my thing for tough girls comes from. That and their innate awesomeness, which I hope I’d notice and go for anyway.’

‘Think it might be safe to poke our heads out now?’ Asami asked. 

‘I’ll make a peephole.’ It was good to get some outside air in there, since it was getting a little overpowering with the combination of his burnt hair, a certain amount of sweat from both of them, and Asami’s perfume, which seemed to smell stronger when she got heated. The people near them now were mostly police and soldiers, herding the crowd off down the streets leading to the square. Over to one side a group were sitting on the ground with their hands bound behind them, under guard. The square was a mess, half the stones torn up and scattered around, water and mud and scorch marks and streaks of blood everywhere. Ambulance crews were moving around picking up the injured. Just to their left he could see the Equalist speaker lying on the ground. His face was dead white, except where it was red and brown with blood from a wound on his forehead and temple. Bolin felt extremely sick for a moment, before seeing him stir and groan as a paramedic reached him and began to assess his injuries. ‘Okay,’ he said to Asami, and lowered the shield, letting the stones clatter and clink away around them. ‘I think we should go straight up to the hall and join up with the others.’

‘No arguments here.’ She saw the speaker too, though, and hurried over to where he was being gently lifted on a stretcher. ‘Is he all right?’ she asked.

‘Can’t tell yet. He’s got a chance. Excuse us,’ the nearest paramedic answered. She and her partner hurried away.

‘He was right next to me,’ Asami said, her cheeks pale. 

‘I hope it wasn’t me,’ Bolin said. He didn’t feel so sick any more, but his stomach was still queasy.

‘What do you mean?’

‘That big guy shot a rock at you. I knocked it out of the way, but I didn’t see where it landed, or where my rock went. I hope I didn’t hit anyone, but they were packed up so close... it was a bad idea.’

Asami took his hand and squeezed it. ‘We’ll find out who he is, and we’ll check on him. Try not to worry.’

They walked hand in hand, picking their way through the destruction, back to the hall, and found Mako and Korra, huddled in an office.

‘What were you thinking?’ Mako bellowed, striding over and jabbing his finger in Asami’s face. ‘Provoking a riot! How could you be so stupid?’

‘Don’t yell at her!’ Bolin snapped back, stepping between them.

‘I can talk for myself, Bolin,’ Asami said quietly.

‘Yeah. Sorry.’ He stepped back, but stayed beside her. 

Asami stared levelly at Mako. ‘I’m not stupid,’ she said. ‘And I did not provoke a riot. I stood up and said something true, and I got attacked for it.’

‘You’ve undone all the good Korra was trying to do! Things are worse than ever!’

‘Oh, yeah, because I have these incredible evil powers. I can make people angry and irrational and violent who would have been perfect angels if I hadn’t said anything! What part of “guaranteed representation for non-benders” actually means “start a riot,” Mako? I’d love to know.’

‘She’s right,’ Korra said from her seat. She looked exhausted, dark shadows under her eyes and her milk-tea complexion yellowish. ‘Will you leave her alone and stop yelling? My head is splitting.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Mako said, to Korra, Bolin noticed, not Asami. ‘I’ll get you some tea.’

‘I don’t want tea. Please, just come and hold me.’ He sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. Bolin heard Asami exhale slowly.

‘I’d like to go home now,’ she said. ‘Bo, would you come with me? To be on the safe side?’

‘Sure. Whatever you need.’ He tried to ignore the accusing look Mako gave him over Korra’s ponytail.

Riding pillion on Asami’s moped made him a little nervous, because she was a speed demon and didn’t have a spare helmet for him. He hung on tight around her waist and alternated between burying his face in her hair because the wind was blinding him, and peeping owlishly out because it was scary not being able to see. At long last she pulled up in the alley at the back of her house and dismounted to open the garage door. As he stepped down he realised he’d been clamping on so hard with his thighs and knees that they ached.

‘Come in,’ Asami said, wheeling the moped into the garage. ‘I can put something on that burn of yours.’

‘It’s not a big gross Fire Lord Zuko kind of burn, is it?’ he asked, touching it again and snatching his fingers back from the sharp sting. As long as he didn’t touch it, it just felt hot, tight and a little sore, but pressure really hurt.

‘No, you were right - it just looks like a sunburn. As it happens, I have a really good cream for sunburn. Plus, I can trim off some of that burnt hair that stinks so much.’

He followed her into the house and up to her bathroom, where she sat him down on a padded stool in front of the vanity and snipped away the crisped parts of his hair, before smoothing on a cold, sharp-smelling white ointment that quickly sank into his skin and made it feel blessedly cool, like the other side of the pillow on a summer night. Half his forehead and his right cheek were flushed red, and there were a couple of little pink blisters.

‘Man, I do _not_ look pretty,’ he said, gazing at the mirror. 

‘Aw, c’mon, you’re always pretty,’ Asami said, and gently knuckled his head. ‘And Lin won’t care. She’ll think it makes you look tough, I bet.’

‘Thanks,’ he said, rolling his eyes.

‘Plus, if the red really bothers you, tomorrow I could help you disguise it with a little make-up. I don’t think we should try to put it on now, though. We can put a little more cream on it in a while. Let’s get some dinner.’

This time it was Asami who gave him money, since neither of them really knew how to cook and she wanted to give Wei an evening off, and he went down the street and around the corner to a restaurant where he was a little shocked to discover what rich people paid for takeout. He carried the hot parcel back under his arm. They were putting out the evening newspaper posters, and the riot was front page news, which made him feel like turning up his collar and pulling his head down into it like a turtleduck. He made himself stop, though, buy a copy and read through the article. The Equalist speaker was mentioned as one of the noteworthy injured. It turned out his name was Wang Park, and apparently he was in serious but stable condition. The paper he’d bought reported the whole thing pretty neutrally, but others on the newsstand seemed to be blaming Asami, or Himeko Hato, or Park himself; others still blamed Korra for not taking charge of the situation. They seemed to think she could do anything, as if she was inhuman and tireless, and it made him both tired himself and very angry. He couldn’t stand here any longer, though, or the dumplings would get cold. 

He and Asami ate in the kitchen, quiet and subdued. Wei had taken his share of the food away to his room, and rather than talking, they listened to the news on the radio. Lin came on briefly, as a spokesperson for the police. She assured the public that the situation had been dealt with swiftly, to minimise injury and property damage. Because of the riot, public assembly in that square could no longer be allowed until the present situation was resolved. Names would still be drawn, but the chosen people would be contacted and summoned to receive their bending at a protected location. She appealed to everyone to keep calm, listen to the police and focus on caring for their own families and neighbours.

‘In other words, don’t bother your heads about how we run this city?’ Asami suggested.

‘Lin’s not like that.’

‘Sorry. Well, I bet she’s pretty mad about the riot, anyway.’

‘Oh, man. I should apologise.’

‘It wasn’t your fault. You were trying to calm things down.’

‘I just feel so...’ He gestured helplessly.

‘You really want to talk to her, right?’

‘Well... yeah.’

‘So get on the phone.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course. Assuming all the lines aren’t down again; service has been on and off lately. Just call her.’

‘I don’t think she’s in the book, though, and she never gave me her number.’

‘Oh.’ Asami stopped and thought. ‘Okay, call Tenzin and ask him for her number.’

‘Why would I tell him I wanted it?’

‘You were a witness in the square and you wanted to tell her your side of it.’

‘Why wouldn’t I have told that to the police while we were there?’

‘Then you want her number for me. In fact, no, I’ll call and ask for it. I want to talk to her about something. I’ll make it sound like secret women’s business, so it would be rude for him to pry.’

‘Man, you’re sneaky. I admire that; I suck at sneaky.’

‘Sweetie-pies generally do. Now you tell _me_ Tenzin’s number, because I have no idea.’

He gave it to her, and she went to the phone in the hall, returning a few minutes later triumphant, with a slip of notepaper with the number on it.

‘This is really nice of you, Asami.’

‘Don’t mention it. After a day as lousy as today, you darn well _should_ be able to talk to your girlfriend.’

‘She isn’t _exactly_ my girlfriend. She doesn’t like me to use that word.’

‘More fool her. Go on. I’m going to get ready for bed; I’m beat.’ She stood up and stretched.

‘Oh. Should I go home after I talk to Lin?’

‘Actually,’ Asami said, dropping her arms, ‘you could stay over. I’d kind of like it if you did. Wei’s all the way downstairs, but you could sleep in one of the guest rooms down the hall...’ She didn’t say anything about why, but he was bright enough to pick up that she didn’t feel completely safe after today.

‘Thanks. It would be nice not to have to go home in the cold and the dark.’

‘You can use the room you were in when you stayed before - you know, with the blue curtains?’

‘Okay.’

‘Night night.’ She kissed her hand and patted his head, and left. He read the phone number over a few times, trying to memorise it in case he needed it again. Then he went out into the hall, where the telephone stood on a swanky little stand with a chair beside it and directories stashed underneath. There was a silver box with a pencil attached and a notepad hidden inside it, because rich people shouldn’t have to look at naked memo paper, he guessed. He sat down and dialled. It seemed to ring for quite a while, and then the maid answered. 

‘Uh, hello,’ he said. ‘Could I speak to Ms Beifong, please?’ He wasn’t sure how formal to be over the telephone, even though he knew Lin’s maid pretty well by now and she certainly knew what he came to the house for.

‘I’ll see if she is available. Who shall I say is calling?’

‘Bolin.’

 _‘Oh,’_ she said, her tone warming. ‘Why didn’t you just say? I’ll tell her.’ That made him feel kind of nice, and it was nicer still when Lin picked up on another extension, even if she just said ‘Hello.’

‘I missed you today,’ he said, as soon as he heard the maid put her receiver down.

‘You saw me this morning,’ she replied. He heard a curl of amusement in her voice. ‘In fact, you fucked me this morning, unless I had a really _vivid_ dream.’

‘No, I’m pretty sure that was me, but I still really missed you.’

‘I hear you were in the middle of that fracas in the square this afternoon.’

‘Yeah, hiding under a rock with Asami.’

‘She’s a brave girl, but she needs to learn to pick her moment. Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine. You?’

‘I wasn’t even there, baby. Just running things from headquarters. Since I got back they seem to think I’m made of glass. I didn’t realise Amon hurt my reputation that much.’

‘You’ll show them.’

‘Of course I will. Where are you calling from?’

‘Asami’s house. I’m staying over tonight, keeping her company. I wish I was keeping _you_ company.’

‘I hope you’re not using “keeping company” to mean the same thing both times.’

‘Oh, no! No way! I would never -’

‘Because I would get really bored if you kept me company the way you would Asami, dumb-ass. I’d like to see you tomorrow night.’

‘Really? When?’ His heart bumped eagerly.

‘Come over about six.’

‘I’m _there._ Want me to bring dinner? Wear something slutty?’

He heard her laugh, that smothered fizzing noise she made down her nose when he’d caught her by surprise. ‘I’ll take care of dinner. You wear whatever you like.’

‘I think I’m going to dream about you tonight. Wearing not much of anything. Maybe just soapsuds and a smile.’

‘I’ll wear a smile if you’re lucky. I make no other promises.’ There was a pause, then Lin said ‘I really need to keep this line free for emergencies, baby.’

‘Aww...’

‘I might ask how you got the number, because it’s unlisted and I know I didn’t tell you.’

‘I may have employed a subterfuge,’ he said airily.

‘You asked Tenzin, didn’t you.’

‘I did not. _Asami_ asked Tenzin, because she’s smarter than I am. Oh, and if he ever asks you about it, you had some kind of secret women’s talk.’

‘Noted. Well, you make sure and dream about me, and tell me all the dirty details tomorrow. Good night, baby.’

‘Good night - Lin.’

He went upstairs, found the bathroom and cleaned himself up a little, putting more cream on the burn, which still looked bad but didn’t feel so tender any more. In the blue-curtained room, he nestled into the thick, soft mattress, pressed the good side of his face into the pillow and pulled the quilt up around his ears. It wasn’t as good as sleeping beside Lin, even as good as sleeping beside Lin on a crash mat at the South Pole with a parka over them would have been, but it was pretty luxurious.

 

There was a scream, and he was rolling out of bed before he was completely awake, stumbling and thudding down the hall towards Asami’s room. Everything was grey and black and he didn’t know where any of the light switches were. Her door was open, and he could just make out that there were people in her room, it looked like two, humped, bucking shapes at the head and foot of the bed, where she was struggling. The shape draped over her legs looked bigger, so he launched himself at that, and slammed into a bulky body, knocking the wind out of whoever it was and driving him to the floor. With no earth and no idea where anything metal was, he could only fight with his body, and he had to get a couple of decent shots in fast, before whoever it was got his breath back. 

He heard Asami scream again, although this time she sounded more pissed off than terrified. His fist connected with an open mouth and teeth cut his knuckles; the guy got one hand under his chin and tried to force him up and away. There was a crash from the bed and a loud, solid thud as if someone’s skull hit the wooden head or footboard. Someone jumped off the bed and he heard their feet pattering across the floor; he struck again and felt a nose crunch and a sharp thunk against the floorboards. The lights came on and he was blinded, but that was okay because the man under him had gone limp. Blinking and squinting, he shook his head and made out that the person with her hand on the light switch by the door was Asami, panting. He looked over to the bed and saw a skinny person, possibly a woman, sprawled over the footboard. She was dressed in shabby black and her face was covered. For a moment he thought she was a chi-blocker, but then he took in that she didn’t have any of their equipment, and her mask was a woollen stocking with rough holes for her eyes and mouth. The same applied to the stunned man he was straddling, and his stocking was soaking through with blood from his nose and gums. 

‘We need to tie them up,’ Asami said, her voice sounding loud and flat. She was wearing a pretty, silky nightgown with shoulder straps like ribbons. One side had slid down from her shoulder. It seemed obscene for him to be looking, to be noticing how creamy-white her breast was and how large and soft and pink the circle around her nipple, the nipple itself slightly indented, he’d never seen that before, but his stupid eyes were locked onto it as if he had to memorise it for a test.

‘Um - Asami?’ He gestured hesitantly at his own chest. ‘Boob?’

Asami looked briefly at her right breast, hanging out of her nightie, and pulled the strap up in a business-like way. ‘Tie them up,’ she repeated, and strode over to her dressing table where she yanked open a drawer and pulled out a handful of scarves. She tossed half of them to Bolin and returned to the bed, where she rolled the unconscious woman onto her front and proceeded to hog-tie her with brisk efficiency. Bolin told himself to snap out of it and did the same with his prisoner, tying his thumbs together and attaching his wrists to his ankles. He rolled the guy onto his side and pulled off the stocking mask to make sure he could breathe. He sounded very snuffly, but in no danger of expiring.

‘You know him?’ Asami asked. She had slid down the side of the bed to sit on the floor, her arms clasped around her knees.

‘Never seen him before.’

‘I don’t know them either,’ she said, shaking her head. She was very pale, although her lips looked flushed and puffy, as if she’d been slapped in the mouth. ‘I woke up and they were grabbing me. She had my arms and he was on my legs. I screamed as loud as I could. Then she put her hand over my mouth and I couldn’t scream again, but she had to let go of one of my hands so I started hitting her as hard as I could. You - you can’t fight properly if you’re on your back to start with. And the bedclothes, they were in my way. She called me an Equalist bitch. I thought they were going to - to kill me. Then you got here. Are - are you okay?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘You’re bleeding.’

‘I know, but I’m fine. Are you?’

‘Let me clean that up,’ she said, picking up a loose scarf and trying to wrap it around his knuckles, her hands shaking. Feet came pounding up the stairs and Wei ran in carrying a poker.

‘Are you all right, Miss Sato?’ he asked, staring around at the mess and the two captives.

‘I’m fine,’ Asami said, gripping Bolin’s hand so tight that he had to clench his jaw not to yelp. 

‘I - I’ve already called the police - I thought I could be of most help that way... I heard you cry out, and running feet... I’m sorry...’ he faltered.

‘You did the right thing. Bolin was here, after all. Perhaps you could go downstairs and wait for them. Show them up to us.’

‘Yes,’ Wei said, looking around again as if he couldn’t quite believe this was happening in Asami’s elegant bedroom. ‘I... yes. Good.’ He lowered his poker and walked off. 

‘We need to wash this,’ Asami said. ‘It could get infected.’

‘If the police are coming, I should put something on,’ he said carefully. ‘It doesn’t look all that good if I’m in your room in my underwear.’

‘Why not? We let it all hang out around here,’ Asami said, and made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob before catching her breath sharply, inhaling deeply through her nose in a mighty sniff. 

‘I’m really sorry about that. Your hair was mostly covering it anyway. I’m sorry I said “boob.” I couldn’t think of the right word. Look, if it would make you feel better you can see my butt. Half of it, anyway. That’d be fair, right?’

It was definitely a laugh this time, a weak, shaky laugh, but without any edge of hysteria on it. ‘Bo, I don’t need to see your butt. Really and honestly. I will cope.’

‘Are you sure? Because you can pick left cheek or right.’ 

‘Tempting as that is, come on, let’s do something about your hand and then you can put something on.’

By the time the police arrived, he’d put on his overcoat, although he kind of regretted that, standing around with his bare legs sticking out from underneath. He must look like a flasher. Asami had put on her dressing gown, or maybe it was a peignoir or a negligée or some fancy thing like that, all silky to match the nightie with long trailing hems. She explained clearly what had happened, her voice sounding almost normal again, although her lower lip was swelling a little and that made a few sounds indistinct.

‘So your boyfriend helped you fight them off?’ the lead officer asked. 

‘He’s my guest,’ Asami said. ‘Yes, he came in and helped me.’

‘I heard her yell out,’ Bolin added, hoping it was helpful. 

‘And are either of these people known to you?’ the officer went on, indicating the two intruders. They were both conscious now, but were maintaining a sullen silence as another policeman handcuffed them and removed the scarves. 

‘No,’ Asami said simply. ‘I’ve never met either of them before.’

‘Or you, son?’

‘I don’t know them,’ Bolin confirmed. ‘I mean, we checked. I wondered if it was someone from the riot today, but I don’t recognise them.’

‘They called me an Equalist,’ Asami said. ‘But the funny thing is, neither of them used any bending, to attack me or Bolin.’

‘I think we can account for that,’ the officer said, smiling slightly. ‘I’ve arrested both of them before. Small-time triad firebenders. I believe they both recently got the Amon treatment.’

‘So... they wanted to punish someone they thought was an Equalist?’ Bolin asked.

‘Could be. They couldn’t get to Amon or Sato, so they went for Sato’s daughter. We’ll see if we can get any sense out of them down at the station.’

‘Thank you,’ Asami said, folding her arms more tightly in front of herself. She shook back her hair, keeping her chin high. 

‘I believe we’ve found where they got in - a forced window on the ground floor. Your butler’s securing that. We’ll leave officers on patrol outside the house, front and back. You shouldn’t have any more trouble tonight, but if you do, help is right at hand.’

Once they were gone, Asami didn’t exactly relax, but she held herself less stiffly than before. She accepted a facecloth full of ice from Bolin, to hold on her bruised lip, and a cup of chamomile tea from Wei. When the swelling and the tea had both gone down, she ran her hands through her hair, gathering it into a tail that she twisted over her shoulder. 

‘We should try to get some sleep before morning,’ Bolin suggested. ‘The police might want to talk to us again, and it’ll be harder if we’re tired.’

‘Will you stay in my room with me? I’d feel a lot better knowing you were right there.’

‘Of course I will.’

He’d assumed he’d sleep on the chaise longue, or the floor, but Asami turned back the covers of her bed (Wei must have been in and tidied them up, because it was once again neatly tucked in with the pillows evenly plumped) and waved him in.

‘Are you sure?’

‘It’s a big bed. I think we can share it without getting in each other’s way.’

‘I just want to say, you know I wouldn’t actually get fresh with you on purpose, but if in my sleep I snuggle up on you and make you feel uncomfortable or crowded, I apologise in advance. Just kick me if I do, okay?’

‘Just get in the bed,’ she said, with a tired smile. He lay on his back, with a respectable distance between the two of them, and she curled up on her side, after switching off the bedside lamp. Her back was to him, and he could mostly only see her hair, thick and black, standing out against the white pillows even in the darkness.

‘This is a really comfy bed,’ he said.

‘Mmhmm.’

‘And I think it’s good to sleep here again right away, it’s like getting back on the horse.’

‘Mmhmm.’

‘Hey Asami. Knock knock.’

‘Who’s there?’

‘Amon.’

‘Oh, too soon! Okay, Amon who?’

‘Amon your doorstep, let me in!’

‘Well _that_ was edgy and topical. Try to go to sleep.’ He could hear a little smile in her voice, though.

‘Sorry. Sleepover feeling. You know. Good night, sleep tight.’

‘Sweet dreams.’ He lay in the dark, unable to relax enough to drift off. He thought Asami was asleep until he heard her voice, very faintly.

‘Bolin?’

‘Mm?’

‘When they attacked me... I didn’t think they were going to kill me. I was afraid they were going to rape me. That’s - that’s why I’ve been so weird. All jittery.’ The bedclothes rustled softly as she rolled onto her back.

‘I don’t think that’s weird. That’s scary stuff.’ He wondered if reaching out to touch her would make it better or worse. What if he tried to pat her shoulder but got her boob? That made him remember it all over again, and he felt worse about it, if she’d been feeling like that when he saw it. 

‘Usually things don’t get to me that badly. Just... that was bad.’

‘It’s okay.’ He slid his hand over very carefully, found her upper arm, and petted it awkwardly.

‘I guess I don’t seem as strong now.’

‘That’s not true at all.’

‘Still a warrior, then?’

‘A warrior and a completely awesome girl. Kyoshi would be proud of you.’

‘I’m so glad you’re my friend.’ She put her hand over his, squeezed it for a moment, then turned onto her side again. That left his hand on her back, and he gave it a little rub between her shoulderblades before taking it back and settling to sleep.

 

Maybe because he had been so anxious not to creep Asami out, he found on waking that he hadn’t rolled over or sprawled out as he normally would. He was still on his back, one arm curled over his head and the other folded over his belly. Asami was still on her side of the bed, rolled over to face him, lying with her arm tucked under the pillow and watching him gravely. Her hair was rumpled, draping slightly over one eye, and her lip looked a lot better than last night, just a faint bruise beneath its edge. 

‘You look really cute and innocent when you sleep,’ she said. ‘Just like a baby. Well, a big burly baby.’ She smiled a little, and he wanted so much to kiss her that his chest hurt with the combination of longing and shame. 

‘Good morning,’ he said foolishly. 

‘Morning.’ She rolled onto her back and looked up into the embroidered canopy of the bed. He felt marginally less flustered without her eyes on him. ‘I think I might be making a mistake,’ she said quietly.

‘What kind?’ 

‘Treating you too much like a boyfriend, because I wish I had all the comforting parts of a boyfriend, but I’m not ready for the rest of it, not for a while, anyway.’

‘Oh. But that’s okay. I understand how you feel, and anyway, Lin.’

‘It just seems... muddled. You’re wonderful, but I wish I had a girl friend to lean on too.’

‘I get that.’ Asking ‘why don’t you?’ seemed rude, but she went on to tell him anyway.

‘I don’t see the girls I knew at school any more... I was the youngest in my class by two years, and I guess we were never very close because of that. They’re all onto a different stage of their lives.’

‘You must have been really smart.’

‘Or maybe I didn’t try hard enough... I don’t know. It seems like a failure not to have a close group of girly friends.’

‘Well, Korra doesn’t either, and she seems okay to me.’

‘Korra didn’t go to school, though. She didn’t have lots of chances. I do _like_ other girls. And I don’t want to be one of those jerks who says “I don’t have friends because everyone is jealous of me” and things, but I do wonder if, you know, it was something to do with me having money, or... how I look.’ She drew a strand out of her hair and wrapped it around her finger, looking at it critically. ‘You know, people have been thinking I’m older than I am since I was about twelve. I guess I just have that kind of face. Someone told me once that I look stuck-up.’

‘I think you have a great face, and you’ve never looked that way to me.’

‘I _like_ my face,’ she said plaintively. ‘But what can I do if other people don’t?’

‘And you know you look really pretty without any make-up too, right?’

‘Thanks. But I don’t wear make-up because I don’t feel pretty. It’s like clothes for your face. I like dressing up, that’s all. Being able to change my style.’

‘I like that idea! I always think it’s so cool how girls can make themselves look really different.’

‘You could wear some too if you wanted to. People expect pro benders to be kind of theatrical.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t even know what kind to buy, let alone how to put it on so I don’t look like a clown or a creep.’

‘I’ll help you. This’ll be fun.’ She rolled back towards him and propped herself up on one elbow.

‘I thought you weren’t into makeovers.’

‘I’m into lots of different things. Anyway, you want to put a little concealer on your burn, right? It’s pretty red.’ She reached out and very lightly touched his cheekbone with one finger.

‘Owwwww.’ He pouted and gave her puppy-dog eyes.

‘Stop that.’ She wagged her finger at him, then sat up and rolled out of bed. ‘Okay, I’m going to shower and get dressed, and you can too, then we’ll have your first make-up lesson.’

He made it a cold shower, to be on the safe side, and made an iron-clad mental resolution that he was _not_ going to sleep in Asami’s bed with her again, under any circumstances.

Unless she really needed him to, of course.

When he went back to his room from the bathroom he found that Wei had been in, made the bed, and laid out clean socks, underwear and a shirt for him, which was awfully nice of him but made him feel just slightly uncomfortable, because based on the size they must have been Asami’s dad’s. He put his own shirt back on, although it didn’t smell very fresh; Asami wouldn’t see the underclothes so they didn’t have to upset her. 

He went along to her room and found her sitting at the dressing table with an extra chair beside her, looking all bright-eyed and enthusiastic. This was probably a good distraction for her. It wasn’t so much a lesson on how he could do make-up for himself as Asami playing with his face and seeing what she could do with it. She did a great job of camouflaging the redness; apart from being able to see the shape of the blisters, you couldn’t tell the burn was there.

‘I really hope this doesn’t mess up the healing,’ she said, dabbing at him with a soft little brush. ‘I have no idea. If your face turns into a suppurating mass, I’m sorry.’

‘I put some more of that cream on it after my shower, so that ought to protect it.’

‘Okay. Now a really important decision to make, once you’ve prepared the canvas, is which features do you want to highlight? I do eyes and lips, equally. For you, I’d recommend eyes, because you have amazing eyes, but because your mouth is pretty wide and full, if we put a lot of colour there you are going to look a little clowny. No offence.’

‘None taken. That’s the kind of thing I need to know.’

‘Okay, and I’m going to keep it subtle, because you’re very fresh-faced, and if we go too dramatic or glam it looks like you’re trying to be older than you are. Also beginners tend to overdo it. They pile it on like warpaint. I sure did; I had a tide-mark right around my jaw because I didn’t know how to blend. And I wore blue eyeshadow,’ she said as if that was obviously bad, so he tried to smile knowingly. ‘Okay,’ she went on, taking his chin in hand again and picking up a different brush. ‘Close your eyes, but don’t scrunch them up. Just a relaxed closed lid. I’ll try not to tickle you too much.’ 

Actually, the brush-strokes felt pretty firm, not feathery like he’d thought. ‘This is just a little contouring,’ she said, and he could hear from her breathing that she was concentrating, her face very close to his. ‘I’m keeping very close to your natural colours. I’m so glad I’m addicted to buying eyeshadow.’ 

‘How do you not blink when you’re doing mascara?’

‘You don’t look at the brush by your eye. You look past it at the brush in the mirror. And I’ve never known why, but it is just impossible to do with your mouth closed. Everyone I’ve ever known who puts on mascara does it with their mouth hanging open. I’m not going to put actual eyeliner on you, but I’m going to use a darker shadow for a soft liner effect.’

‘Yeah, whatever that means. Okay, that tickles a little.’

‘Open your eyes so I can get the lower lid. Look straight up. Good.’

‘Would it help if I opened my mouth?’

‘It would help if you didn’t talk.’

‘Are you going to put mascara on me?’

‘Are you joking? With your lashes? I can put some clear on them if you want a little more definition.’

‘Yes please. I want the full bit.’

‘Okay. Keep your eyes open, but look through me or past me. Good... Just do your best not to blink... The-e-ere... what’s so funny?’

‘You hung your mouth open.’

‘Well, that’s mascara for you.’ She snapped it closed and put it aside, then leaned back to consider the effect. He started to turn his head toward the mirror, but she put her hand out and stopped him. ‘Not done yet. I’m going to put just a little bit of lip balm on you, just a very slight rosy colour, nothing glossy or obvious. And it’ll make you nicer for Lin to kiss, so that’s good, right?’

This was the tough part, though, because she dabbed it on with her finger, and he knew he was blushing straight through the make-up. _Kiss me kiss me kiss me no don’t. What is_ wrong _with me? Am I turning into Mako? Can neither of us stick to one girl?_

‘Okay,’ Asami said, sitting back and smiling, ‘all beautiful. Take a look.’

He turned and looked at himself. ‘Wow. That’s crazy. I mean it looks like _me,_ but like... me if I were in a movie. Matinée idol Bolin.’

‘You do! Do you think it’s too much?’

‘No way. I look hot. I want to see what people think.’

Most of the people who got to see it that day were police officers, as they were called down to the central station not only to answer further questions about the break-in and assault on Asami, but also to give their account of events in the square. Bolin was a little afraid they were going to get the third degree about not having approached the police to talk about it when it happened, that this might make them look suspicious, but it seemed that the ringleaders of the riot had already been identified and nobody thought he or Asami was connected to them. That was a relief. He decided to keep very quiet about the fact that he knew Shady Shin, who was apparently in this mess up to his neck. Mostly the questioning was boring rather than scary, with a lot of waiting around, because the police were so busy everyone was doing ten things at once. He was sitting in an interview room waiting for an officer who’d been called away to get back to him when a side door opened and Lin came in.

‘Can’t stay out of trouble, can you?’ she asked. Her manner was cool and brisk, but he thought he could see a hint of a smile in her eyes.

‘I just felt like coming to see you!’

‘What are we going to do with you?’ She reached out and pinched his cheek, which was unlucky, since she picked the burned one.

‘Ow!’ He jerked away from her hand and clamped his own over the stinging, then jerked it away because that only made it worse.

‘What’s wrong with you? I didn’t pinch you hard.’ Lin bent over him, her brows drawing together in concern, which you could have mistaken for anger if you didn’t know her well. He could feel that one of the blisters had broken, and his cheek felt wet. ‘You’re hurt under here. What is this?’ She licked her fingers and dabbed at his face.

‘I said ow! Sheesh, Lin!’

‘Okay, do you want to tell me why your face is burned and you’re covered in paint? Who did this to you?’ She held up her hand with make-up smeared on the fingertips.

‘Asami,’ he mumbled.

‘She _burned_ you?’

‘No, I mean she did the make-up. To cover it. I don’t know who burned me, I didn’t see them. It was in the riot yesterday.’

Lin’s face fell a little. ‘But I talked to you yesterday, after that, and you didn’t say you got hurt.’

‘I didn’t think it was important. Don’t get mad.’

‘Don’t tell me not to get mad,’ she said, poking her finger in his face. ‘Somebody I care about gets half his face burnt off, and I get mad, mister.’

‘It’s not that bad! You’ve messed me up worse just playing. Come onnn.’ He waved his hands and gave her an appeasing smile.

Lin seemed to remember the situation, where they were, and stepped back, folding her arms. ‘I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you,’ she said gruffly. ‘We have a good medic here. I’ll ask her to take a look at you.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Right. I should go.’ She turned away briskly and went back to the door, then turned back for a moment. ‘Your, um,’ she said, and gestured vaguely at her eyes. ‘You look nice.’ Before he could say anything back she’d hurried out and shut the door behind her.

 

The police doctor was a pleasant, dumpy woman who removed most of Asami’s cosmetic work in the process of treating the burn with waterbending. 

‘I could do a better job if I’d seen it sooner,’ she said. ‘You’re going to have some peeling over the next couple of days. Try not to pick at it, and I’ll give you some cream to soothe it. And no more make-up till it’s better. Let your skin breathe.’

‘Okay. But didn’t I look cute?’ He gave her his best smile.

‘Ravishing,’ she replied drily. 

Asami was waiting for him on a bench in the foyer. ‘Hey. Aw, they washed your face. Was that police brutality?’

‘Nah, free healthcare, actually.’

‘You ready to go?’ She got up, bouncing her helmet between her hands.

‘I kind of have a date tonight. With you know who. But you know, I don’t have to spend the whole evening there, I can come back to your place.’

‘Yeah. Right. Don’t be silly, you want to spend the night with her. That’s okay. I’ll be fine.’

‘But I don’t want you to feel scared or lonely,’ he protested.

Asami shrugged. ‘I can handle it.’

‘You shouldn’t have to, not on your own. I’ll just tell Lin I can’t stay over. She’ll understand.’

‘No, listen. I don’t want to be too dependent on you. Not because you’re not dependable. I want to be stronger than that. Not to mention Wei’s going to be sleeping in the next room and I’ll have an electroglove under my pillow, so it’s not like I’m riding out to be Danger Girl all on my own.’ She bopped him on the chest with the helmet. ‘Besides, I’m cheering you on. Dummy. Go be with your girlfriend tonight. She can kiss your dumb burned face better.’

‘If you insist. We’ve got some time till I need to go, though.’

‘Good. I thought we should go by the hospital and ask about Mr Park. Maybe take him some flowers, if we can find a florist’s shop open.’

‘That’s a great idea. Let’s go and find some old tin cans.’

‘What?’

They pulled up to the hospital with Bolin holding onto Asami’s waist with one arm and the other wrapped round a clinking bouquet of tin daisies. Asami confidently led the way to the nurses’ station.

‘Hello. We’re friends of Mr Wang Park,’ she said, possibly overstating the case a little. ‘Could you tell us how he’s doing?’

‘I’m afraid we only give out patient information to family members. If you’d like me to give him a message, I can take him a note,’ the nurse on duty said.

‘So he’s awake?’ Asami asked brightly. ‘That’s good to hear. We’ve been worried about him.’

The nurse gave her an old-fashioned look. _‘Would_ you like me to give Mr Park a message?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Thank you! Would you have a paper and pencil we could use? Thank you.’ She tapped the end of the pencil against her chin for a moment, then wrote 

_Dear Mr Park,_

_We wish you a quick recovery. We would like to come and see you, if that would be convenient. I respect your convictions and would appreciate the opportunity to further discuss the situation._

‘Anything you want to put in?’ she asked Bolin. 

‘No, that sounds really good.’ She had beautiful handwriting, crisp and curly.

_We will be waiting for half an hour here at the hospital, in case you are ready to see us today. If not, but you would like to see us later, please call me on RC-8811. If you don’t wish to see us we will understand, and continue to wish you well._

_Sincerely,_

_Asami Sato_

She handed the pencil to Bolin and he added his name under hers, then added _(from the square)._

‘And can we leave this for him?’ Asami asked, gesturing to the bouquet. Bolin held it up, clinking, and smiled encouragingly. 

‘I’ll see that he gets it,’ the nurse said.

They had been sitting around for about twenty minutes, Asami browsing through a waiting-room magazine and Bolin playing with his bracelet, when a passing nurse told them Mr Park would see them in Room 3-18.

Room 3-18 held four beds, all of them occupied by men with an assortment of bandages, stitches and casts. Wang Park was on the bed nearest the window, sitting up against a stack of pillows, with a huge off-centre turban of white gauze and the fingers of one hand splinted. 

‘Hello,’ he said, looking at them curiously. ‘It took me a while to remember who you two were. Forgive me. I’m concussed and I’m a little hazy.’

‘I’m so sorry you were hurt,’ Asami said, going over to him. Bolin pulled over a couple of chairs for them and sat down beside her. ‘Do you know who did this to you?’

‘I’m afraid I have no idea. I was just trying to get out to the side of the square. I can’t fight, can’t defend myself. I didn’t see it coming. I just felt an incredible blow against my head and it looks like I broke my hand trying to catch myself when I fell.’

‘So... it wasn’t right as the fighting started?’ Bolin asked. 

‘No, I suppose it was a minute or so later. I can’t remember too clearly. Why?’

Bolin felt a lovely warm wash of relief. ‘I was afraid it was me. I just threw one rock, to stop that guy hitting Asami, and I didn’t know where it went.’

‘Oh, I see,’ Park said. ‘So you didn’t come out of any genuine concern for _me._ You came to clear your conscience, is that right? What if it had been your rock, or neither of us could be sure? What would you do then?’

‘I don’t know,’ Bolin admitted, flushing. ‘I’d try to help you.’

‘You mean, if I wanted someone beaten up, you’d oblige?’

‘No...’

‘Isn’t that the main thing you could do? You take part in a sport that glorifies and privileges bending violence.’

‘That’s really not fair,’ Asami put in. ‘Bolin is a gentle, kind person.’

‘Who smashes chunks of earth into people for fun.’

‘People wearing padding and helmets, who entered the game freely, and are benders themselves,’ Bolin said, feeling a little stung. ‘And there are lots of violent contact sports that non-benders play too. How about boxing?’

‘When was the last time you saw boxing get the kind of coverage pro bending does?’

‘Do you two really want to argue about sports?’ Asami asked. ‘Aren’t there bigger problems out there?’

‘The sporting situation _is_ one of the problems out there,’ Park said, ‘when pro benders are idolised and little non-bender kids know they can never aspire to that. Everything in this city tells them they’re inferior.’

‘You know, I’m not a bender. I don’t feel inferior,’ Asami said.

‘Good for you,’ Park said, and shrugged. ‘Neither do I. Doesn’t mean the messages aren’t there, every day.’

‘Do you think guaranteed representation would be a good message?’

‘It could be,’ he said. ‘It would take organisation. And if you’ll pardon me, I’m not sure people are going to want to hear it from a rich teenage girl.’

‘I’m not looking to lead a movement,’ Asami said. ‘I want to help get it started, and support it. But the main reason for coming today really was to see if you were all right, and to give you our good wishes.’ She nodded at the tin bouquet, standing on the windowsill. ‘You know, Bolin made that for you.’

‘Really? I wondered what that was about. Roses mean love, pansies mean thoughts, what do tin cans mean?’

‘Tin cans mean it’s winter and we couldn’t find a florist,’ Bolin admitted with a grin. ‘We rinsed them out with hot water. So, you know, I don’t just use my bending for clobbering. I also use it for really strange arts and crafts.’

‘Yeah. Well.’ Park scratched his nose and sighed. ‘Listen, I’d be glad to talk more when my head feels less like a run-over melon. I don’t think you’re bad kids, you may have some good ideas, but I don’t have the energy to brainstorm.’

‘Thank you,’ Asami said. ‘I’m sorry if I made it sound like I wanted you to give me answers or make plans today. I’m not ready for that either. There’s so much to deal with.’

‘I feel like I should tell you, though,’ Park said. ‘I was never anyone important in the Equalist movement. I was just a guy with a loud voice, who’d give speeches and hand out flyers, and once got beat up by the Avatar.’

‘I’m sorry about that,’ Bolin said. ‘She kind of beat you up for my sake. Not cause I asked her to! She was trying to protect me.’

‘From _me?’_

‘It’s... complicated...’

‘Listen to me,’ Park said. ‘I know she’s your friend. I’m sure she’s always been nice to _you._ But that girl doesn’t care about non-benders. Doesn’t care if we’re unhappy. Just wants people who don’t like the system that suits her to sit down and shut up. You don’t have to take my word for it. Try talking about it with her some time.’

Bolin wanted to argue, just based on his feeling that Korra was a good person, but he didn’t feel right getting too snippy with a guy with a head injury, so he just nodded.

‘Okay. I’m worn out,’ Park said. ‘I’ll call you when I’m feeling better.’

‘Thank you for seeing us,’ said Asami.

‘I don’t know,’ Bolin said as they walked down the hospital stairs. ‘Did that feel kind of like a bust to you?’

‘It wasn’t a feelgood extravaganza,’ Asami said, ‘but we know you didn’t brain him. I’m pleased about that.

‘Oh, yeah. But I didn’t really like that stuff he said about Korra.’

‘You’re more upset about him saying Korra doesn’t care about non-benders, than you are glad you didn’t give an innocent person a concussion? You can take loyalty too far, Bo.’

‘It’s not that she doesn’t _care._ She just doesn’t _know._ I mean, how could she? She grew up in that compound at the South Pole. Everyone was a bender.’

‘She’s been out of the compound for a while now, though,’ Asami said. ‘Don’t be upset. I haven’t made my mind up. But I think he’s right about talking to her. Anyway, what time’s Lin expecting you?’

‘Six.’

Asami peeled back her sleeve and looked at her watch. ‘It’s five thirty. I’ll drop you off.’


	8. Chapter 8

He went round to the back door, to show that he was all about discretion, and knocked, but nobody came, and he couldn’t see any lights. For lack of anything smarter to do, he went to the front of the house and tried that door, with the same result. He was getting ready to sit down and wait in the cold, wishing he had Pabu with him for warmth and company, when he saw Lin walking down the street, wrapped up in her black coat with her hands sunk in her pockets. 

‘Hi!’ He jumped down from the front step, beaming. ‘Gee, I would’ve thought an important person like you got driven everywhere.’

‘I’d rather walk,’ she said. ‘Keeps me fit and I can see what’s going on.’

‘There’s no-one home,’ he said, bobbing up and down to distract himself from how much he wanted to hug her.

‘It’s Kika’s evening off,’ Lin said, stepping up and unlocking the door. ‘You coming?’

‘No, I thought I’d stay out here and enjoy the cold.’ He ducked under her arm as she held the door open and into the hall. As soon as the door was decently shut he flung his arms around her. ‘Umph! That’s been building up.’ He smacked a kiss on her cheek.

‘Ape,’ she said fondly. ‘Let me take my coat off before you start pawing me.’

‘Yes’m. And how was your day? May I hang up your coat, perchance?’ He made a show of buttling around her.

‘It was all right. No riots. Frankly, baby, it was dull. The problem with a civil war, however short-lived, is the amount of paperwork it generates. I’m all cramped up from sitting at a desk. Popping in to see you was a good excuse to get up and move.’ She looked at his face critically as he hung up his coat. ‘Your burn looks better.’

‘Yeah, it’s just kind of itchy now. I’m trying not to touch it because later on I want to see how much I can peel off in one piece.’

‘That’s kind of disgusting, Bolin. Anyway, I need to work off some energy. Gym.’ She turned him round by the shoulders and marched him ahead of her.

‘Can we talk first? There’s something I think I ought to tell you about. I mean, I kind of don’t want to say anything because it might upset you, but if I don’t tell you it’s really going to bug me.’

‘You’re serious all of a sudden,’ Lin said, still pushing him along.

‘At first I was just stoked to see you, but this is important. I want to come clean.’

‘Why, what have you done?’

‘I haven’t _done_ anything,’ Bolin admitted, twiddling his fingers together, ‘but I’m being kind of messed up.’

‘Start making sense, or I’m going to get impatient.’ She put her hands on her hips, standing in the gym doorway.

‘Uhh, you know Asami?’

‘Not as well as you do, but yes.’

‘I just... I’ve been spending a lot of time with her, and I care a lot about her.’

‘Right...’ Lin walked into the gym and metalbent her armour off, stacking it on the bench.

‘And I feel like such a creep because I want to be with _you_ but I keep thinking she’s so ridiculously hot and getting all flustered and stupid about it.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Lin crossed her right arm across her body, put her left hand on her elbow and stretched out her shoulder. ‘So you’ve been feeling like a creep. Have you been _acting_ like a creep?’

‘I’ve been really trying not to. I don’t _think_ I’m being creepy but maybe I am because she wanted me to come see you tonight instead of staying with her, but then she said that’s because she didn’t want to be too dependent and maybe that’s all it means. I don’t know, and I just wish I didn’t feel this way.’ He rubbed his arm unhappily. ‘I just want to be a good friend to her, not a perv. I didn’t think this would happen when I’ve got _you.’_

‘You’re really stewing over this,’ Lin said. ‘Okay. Let me tell you something. General Iroh is a hot piece of ass.’

‘Um. What?’

‘He’s gorgeous. I want to mess up his hair and grab his ass and hear what kind of squeaky noises he’d make in that cute husky voice of his. I don’t feel bad about that.’

‘Well, _I_ kind of feel bad about that.’

‘Why? I’m not going to do it. The point I’m trying to make, evidently somewhat clumsily because now you look like a kicked puppy, is that you don’t stop noticing or wanting other people because you have someone. You don’t have to act on it. You’ve got the choice, obviously, and I don’t want you to feel obliged to choose me. Heck, I could share if she could.’ She shrugged and pulled her shirt off over her head, then shook back her hair. 

‘Iiiii... don’t think that would be a very good idea.’

‘Then we don’t have to do it.’ She tapped him on the nose. ‘See how easy this really is?’

‘It doesn’t _feel_ easy.’

‘I know. I’m sorry, sometimes I forget how intense and important everything feels at your age. Listen, has Asami given you any reason to think that she’s feeling the same way?’

‘She’s kind of back and forth? Like she’s really affectionate, but she also said she thought she was depending on me too much, and treating me too much like a boyfriend because it was comforting but she wasn’t ready for all the other stuff yet, since she just had a crappy breakup?’

‘Well, that sounds like she has her head screwed on. Honestly, you don’t need to worry. Get your shirt and shoes off and help me stretch. Come on, don’t you feel better? I’m not upset, I’m not mad, we’re having one of those... honest communication thingies.’

‘Okay. Thanks for being cool about it.’ As he helped her, and as she bullied him to keep stretching further, he still felt unsettled. Lin not being upset felt too much like Lin not caring. He had to remind himself of how angry she’d been that someone had hurt him; she’d actually used the word, calling him ‘someone I care about,’ so he shouldn’t feel any doubt. She’d said that everything felt intense and important _at his age._ Did that mean that at her age feelings were sort of washed out and faint? That didn’t make sense; she seemed like a person with some pretty intense feelings herself.

They were halfway through _his_ stretches, and he was quietly cussing and Lin was chuckling at him, when they heard the front door bang open and shut and a huge voice yell out ‘HONEY I’M HOME.’

‘Wha?’ Bolin asked, looking up. Lin leapt off him and raked her hands through her hair. Thunderous footsteps barrelled through the house, the gym door was booted open and Bumi appeared, grinning.

‘What are you doing here? I know I locked the door!’ Lin snapped.

‘Pish, I stole a key when I was six. This is your punishment for not going drinking with me last night. PREPARE YOURSELF.’ He charged at Lin and grabbed her round the waist, straightening up to carry her around the room over his shoulder, hooting at the top of his voice while she pummelled his back and Bolin watched them, gaping. Lin was laughing helplessly and not making any serious effort to get away. It took him a second to recognise that this was pretty much exactly the way he and Mako always play-fought; it was just so weird to see old people _(not old people Lin is not old people)_ adults do it.

‘Put me down before I puke down your back,’ Lin managed to say, and Bumi promptly set her down and stepped back with a lavish bow. She kicked dirt at him and bent double with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. ‘Ugh! You psycho.’

‘Yup. Hey, who’s that?’

‘That’s Bolin. I’m teaching him metalbending. Don’t pick on him.’

‘But I want to.’ Bumi bounded over to Bolin and loomed over him. ‘Hey, kid! Is Lin really mean to you? You can tell Uncle Bumi.’

‘Uh, no sir, she’s actually pretty nice.’

 _‘Somebody_ appreciates me,’ Lin said. ‘Bolin, why don’t you show Bumi what you can do now? Keep in mind, Bubu, he’s been learning this for what, three weeks?’

‘Um, okay. Space rock?’ _Bubu?_

‘Space rock will do nicely.’

Bolin got to his feet, bowed to Lin and Bumi in turn, since it felt like that sort of situation, and pulled the meteorite over to him. It was kind of weird and delightful to feel how easy it was now. He stopped it, with both hands on it, and thought for a moment. He wanted to make Lin proud, and he wanted to impress Bumi. An explosion ought to do that, but he couldn’t make one of those, so some kind of big visual display was the next best thing. He took a moment more, getting his idea completely clear in his head.

‘Kid, it’s okay if you can’t do anything else,’ Bumi said kindly. ‘I’m impressed that you moved it.’

‘Shut up, he’s doing something,’ Lin said. ‘I recognise that look.’

Bolin took a deep, slow breath, in, out, back in, and on the final exhalation, pushed up and out and bent the metal. It took the wind out of him, but it was fantastic. The meteorite swelled like a bud, twisted and blossomed into a huge iron rose. He stepped back from it and dusted his hands, looking from Lin to Bumi for approval. They both simply stared.

 _‘Dude,’_ Bumi said, and fell silent.

‘Bolin,’ Lin said slowly, ‘when did you start - I mean, how did you come up with this?’

‘It’s something I’ve been working on by myself. I just sort of scaled it up. Is it okay?’

‘It’s... really something.’ She walked around the rose, hands on hips, inspecting it from different angles. ‘Look at the edges on these petals. There’s so much detail.’

‘I like flowers,’ Bolin said, shrugging modestly.

‘Ha!’ said Bumi. ‘You didn’t even know what he was going to do! You didn’t teach him that.’

‘Yeah, she did,’ Bolin protested. ‘I mean, she didn’t teach me roses but she taught me shaping and control and stuff. It’s not her fault if I use the basic forms to do weird stuff.’

 _‘I_ empower my students to exercise their own creativity within the forms I teach them,’ Lin said loftily. 

‘No you don’t,’ Bumi said, grinning. ‘You drill ‘em over and over until they can reproduce what you show them exactly. If you see the least deviation you whack ‘em with a cane.’

‘Police metalbending is different,’ Lin said. ‘You’ve got to have discipline and a standardised style.’

‘So what makes Bolin the big exception?’

‘He’s an experiment. As a pro bender, he has an atypical style for an earthbender, and he’s versatile. I wanted to see what he could do. Also, I was at a loose end and wanted a project. Don’t criticise just because you can’t do this.’

‘Ah, I bet I could take the pair of you,’ Bumi said, dropping into a defensive stance.

‘But you’re not a bender, are you, sir?’

‘I do like how polite he is. No, kid, I’m not, I’m more of a mixed martial arts guy. So I’ve spent years developing a style specifically to effectively fight benders, without having to be one. A lot of dodging is involved.’

‘And chi-blocking?’

‘Nah, chi-blocking’s for cheaters. I like to punch people in the face, honest-like.’

‘Okay, then,’ said Lin, cracking her knuckles. ‘You can try to take the pair of us. I’m going to metalbend; Bo will stick to plain earthbending because he hasn’t learned metal combat yet.’

‘Which probably means he could bend himself a cannon that fires real shot,’ Bumi shrugged. ‘Come on then. Game on.’ 

‘Is this fair?’ Bolin asked Lin nervously. ‘Two against one, and we’re both pretty strong benders...’

‘Watch out!’ she snapped. Before he knew how it was happening, he was on his back, his head bounced off the floor, and Bumi vaulted over him and bounced away.

‘I want a do-over!’ he called feebly as Lin hauled him to his feet and clanged her armour back onto her body, then sent a wire whipping after Bumi. 

Ten minutes later, Lin and Bumi were in a kind of mutual headlock stalemate, and Bolin was sitting the end of the match out because he’d got elbowed in the breadbasket and thrown up. He was now fairly sure Bumi was possessed, but not necessarily in a bad way. Either that, or he was part lemur. At one point Lin had got so mad at him she’d actually started throwing pieces of her armour at him; she was back down to her undershirt and trousers, and she was sweaty and dishevelled and grubby, so she looked pretty great to Bolin. She was still wearing his necklace, he’d noticed, the little silver ‘lin’ pendant catching the light. She was still laughing, though her eyes glinted fiercely. In the end they wrestled each other to collapse, and lay on the dirt weakly arguing about who made full body contact with the floor first.

‘I win because I’m older,’ Lin said.

‘I win because I’ve got a beard,’ Bumi replied.

‘I win because I’m not you.’ Lin rolled up to a sitting position and propped herself on her hands. ‘Feeling better, kiddo?’

‘Yeah, I just have a glass... solar plexus.’

‘Sorry ‘bout that,’ Bumi said, lifting his head from the floor. ‘Hey, whatcha got there?’

‘I pulled off a petal because I had another idea.’ Bolin held out the piece of metal he was working with; he’d fashioned it into a little sculpture of a badger-mole. Sitting on its back was a miniature figure of Lin.

‘This kid’s an artist,’ Bumi exclaimed, rolling over. 

‘Nobody’s ever said that about me,’ Bolin said, surprised.

‘You ever try to do any art before?’

‘Nope.’

‘There you go then. You just needed to start. Can you put me on behind her? And can you give me antlers?’

‘This one is just for Sifu Lin, to say thank you for all the lessons.’ Bolin set the model badger-mole on the ground and made it waddle gratingly over to Lin. ‘Cute, right? Cute?’

‘It’s very cute,’ Lin said, resting her chin in her hand and gently shaking her head.

‘I _rule_ at cute.’

‘Good for you. Okay,’ she said, getting to her feet with a grunt. ‘I’m bushed. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. Lock up when you leave, I guess.’

‘Oh?’ Bolin belatedly realised that Bumi’s arrival constituted a gigantic cockblock.

‘Well, while you go to bed like a boring old lady, _I_ am taking _my_ new friend Bolin out for a drink,’ Bumi said, slinging his arm around Bolin.

‘He’s sixteen,’ Lin said, raising one eyebrow as she left.

‘What? Is it a school night? Come on, kiddo, I’m going to get you wasted.’

‘Um - sir - well - okay.’ Bolin pulled his shirt, socks and shoes back on, over the sweat and dirt, and followed Bumi out of the house, getting his coat out of the hall closet on the way. It was snowing again, and going from being rather hot in the gym to this cold was a little jarring. Their breath formed clouds of steam, and Bumi grinned at him through the vapour.

‘Dragons!’ he said. ‘So kid. Whatcha gonna do with your life? It better be good.’

‘I have no idea,’ Bolin said. ‘I mean, I’m in a pretty good pro bending team, but it’ll be a while before that gets going again. I’m thinking about the police, but I think you have to take an exam to get in and I never really went to school, so that could be hard.’

‘There’s always the forces,’ Bumi said. ‘If you can read and write and wipe your ass on the first try, we’ll at least take you for basic training.’

‘Yeah, I guess that might be cool. I’d like to learn more from Lin first, though.’

‘That makes sense. I mean, how long’ve you been fucking her?’

Bolin stopped and stared at him in horror.

‘Don’t freak out, kid. Listen, let’s go in here.’ Bumi grabbed his elbow and towed him towards a restaurant on the corner. Lin’s neighbourhood was on the tony side, and it didn’t look like the sort of place you should go into while as grubby and sweaty as they were, but Bumi clearly didn’t care. He got them a quiet booth and ordered two highly coloured drinks, and sat and grinned while Bolin squirmed.

‘How did you know?’ Bolin whispered.

‘Well, there’s the way you look at her, the way you metalbent her a _giant rose,_ the way you got yourself creamed in the fight because you were watching her not me, the way you looked incredibly guilty the second I raised the possibility - which was just a guess, by the way, but good job on confirming my suspicions.’

‘Please _please_ don’t tell anyone.’

‘And the fact that she’s got form for this type of thing.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep.’ Bumi knocked back about half his drink and dug a cigar out of some inner recess of his jacket, lighting it with a match that he scraped with his thumbnail. ‘I don’t get back to Republic City as often as I’d like, but I visit when I can, mess up Tenzin’s life, corrupt his kids, catch up with Lin.  Every few years, she hooks up with a younger guy and tries not to let anyone know about it. But Bumi sees all and knows all. They keep getting younger, too, although hopefully you represent some kind of lower limit, or it’s just going to get hinky.’

‘Oh,’ Bolin said. He felt uncomfortably warm and prickly all over, and he took a deep swig of his drink in the hope that it would help him cope. 

‘Generally they’re not bad guys, and they move on sooner or later, or she kicks them out, but a few times I’ve had to Fire Uncle one of ‘em. You, though, seem like a decent kid. The thing you’ve got to understand about Lin is, she’s been hurt. You know about her and Tenzin?’

‘Tenzin?’ That was unexpected.

‘The full childhood sweethearts deal. Together for years. They never actually got married, but we all assumed it was pretty much permanent. They fought a lot, but they always made up. Then along came Pema, and soon it was all over. I was so mad at Tenzin - didn’t talk to him for weeks. He broke my best friend’s heart for no reason, that was the way I saw it. In the end it was Kya who forced us to sit down and talk about it, and it made sense. He wanted a family so badly, and that was never going to happen with Lin. Still, imagine how that made her feel.’

‘That’s terrible. I can’t believe Tenzin would do that!’

‘So you can see how it goes, right? The pattern. She gets lonely, but she can’t risk loving someone and getting hurt. So she picks someone up strictly on her own terms, until she’s had enough. Then she ditches ‘em, until she gets lonely again. And I hate seeing her do it, but what can I say? If I let on I knew, she’d be furious with me. And I love that woman.’

‘If you love her...’ Bolin said hesitantly, suddenly afraid he was going to have to do the decent and noble thing and step aside to let them be together.

‘No, I’m gay.’

‘Oh, okay.’ Relief swig. This was an easy drink to like.

‘I love her as a sister, and a best friend, and my best rival.’

‘Isn’t it kind of messed up that you wanted your brother and “sister” to get married?’

‘Don’t be too literal, kid. My point is, you look like you actually care about her. I want you to understand. Don’t hurt her. Not because I’ll tear your head off, but because she really, really doesn’t deserve to be hurt any more. What do you say?’

‘I say... I kind of don’t think it’s any of your business. I mean, to tell me any of this at all. It should be up to Lin whether or not I know about private stuff from her past, shouldn’t it? And I don’t even need this story to want not to hurt her. I never want to hurt her. If I could make her happy for the rest of her life, I would. She just says I can’t, that’s all, and that’s up to her, too. Sorry. Sir.’ I-just-sort-of-told-off-a-major-military-badass-I-hope-he-doesn’t-kill-me swig. 

‘Huh.’ Bumi exhaled smoke, looking dragonish again. 

‘I’m glad you care about her, though. Just... maybe not interfere in stuff that you know she doesn’t want you to know about. Sir.’

‘I guess you’re right,’ Bumi said lugubriously, ‘but it’s hard to watch. I mean, doesn’t it bother you knowing you’re just one of many?’

‘I’m a _special_ one,’ Bolin said firmly. 

‘Well, I like your confidence, kid. I guess we can agree that Lin is pretty great.’

‘She’s _so_ great! She’s so smart and brave and sexy and tough and weird and fun and mysterious and... I mean, _you_ know, you _know_ her. Man, I know I said you shouldn’t tell me stuff from her past but I wish I could ask you all about her.’

‘What about non-private stuff? How’s this?’ Bumi pulled out his wallet and shook out a worn photograph. ‘This is from the year we went to Kyoshi Island and spent all summer training with those warrior gals. Me, Lin and Tenzin - she’s ten or eleven there, I forget which.’ The photograph showed three skinny children, a wild-haired little girl and two shaven-headed little boys. Lin was between the boys, an arm around each of their necks, grinning at the camera, her smile broad and fearless. 

‘She’s so cute!’

‘She was _mean._ I’m the one with the bumpy head. Here’s another one from that trip, with Uncle Sokka. Best uncle ever.’ This picture showed a tall man in swimming trunks standing in a strong-man’s pose, both arms up and flexed, with a child dangling from either bicep. ‘We had lots of photos with him, but next to none with Aunt Suki because she always wanted to work the camera.  Uncle Sok used to say people in the future would think he didn’t have a wife and somehow made my cousins on his own.’

‘He was really important to Lin,’ Bolin said, examining the photo carefully. There was something he wanted to ask, _why_ Sokka meant so much to Lin, and where her father fitted into the picture, but he felt strongly that it fell under the heading of private stuff. Lin had to choose to tell him on her own, and if she never did he’d just have to take it.

‘Yeah, to me too. He’s the one that taught me to fight, and showed me it didn’t matter whether you were a bender or not. Which of course my parents always _told_ me, but it’s hard to believe the world’s top waterbender and the Avatar when they say that.’ He looked fondly at the pictures and tucked them back in his wallet. ‘Okay, let’s drink a toast. To Lin Beifong, precious badass.’

‘I’ve nearly finished my drink, though.’

‘Then I’ll get you another one - you’ve got to start a toast with a fresh drink.’ Bumi waved over a waiter and ordered another round. ‘Lin Beifong!’

‘Lin Beifong,’ Bolin agreed, and swigged. ‘It’s nice to get to talk to another fan.’

He kept meaning to get moving, home to Lin, but Bumi kept ordering them more drinks, which were delicious, and food, which he really wanted, and telling him lavish and improbable adventure stories about his Uncle Sokka, who did sound like a cool dude. He did wonder, very slightly, if Bumi was trying to keep him away from Lin tonight, but on the other hand, maybe he was just trying to get to know him and be sure he was good for her. Maybe he was lonely or bored, or maybe he just liked him, Bolin; he was a likeable guy. He realised he was tipsy, but not quite how tipsy until he finally got up from his chair and the room swung. 

‘Whoa! Haha.’ He put both hands on the table and tried again. ‘That’s better. Okay. Okay thanks, thanks Uncle Bumi, but I’ve got to, really got to go.’

‘When did I turn into Uncle Bumi to you? Not that I mind.’ 

‘You’re a nuncle.’

‘I’m not sure I should let you go off on your own.’ Bumi signalled for the bill.

‘Okay, walkie home!’ Bolin pulled his coat off the back of his chair, got one arm into a sleeve, then couldn’t find the other, turning vaguely in circles as he reached for it. 

‘Okay, come on, hold still. There we go. Good boy. You are so lucky I’m not a chickenhawk like Lin.’ Bumi helped him into the coat and steered him towards the door.

‘I’m cuuuuuuuute.’

The cold air outside braced him up a bit; it was snowing and the wind gusted intermittently, blowing icy flecks into their faces. He hooked his arm into Bumi’s elbow for support and took a deep chilly breath. ‘Phew. Thanks.’

‘Going back to Lin’s?’

‘That’s the plan. Hope she’s still awake.’

‘Hope she likes drunk guys falling on top of her.’

‘I’m not _that_ drunk. Hey, can I really call you Uncle Bumi?’

‘I don’t see why not. Watch out cutie, you’re heading into the gutter.’

‘Hahaha.’

Bumi left him in the back alley, with a hug and a promise to show him over his ship some time. He clambered over the gate and made his way to the back door, which was locked. He rattled at the knob for a little while, before looking up at the rear of the house. There was a light showing between the curtains of one upstairs window, which he thought was in about the right place to be Lin’s room. He bent and scuffed and dug through the snow, his fingers getting cold and wet, until he found a few pebbles, and levitated them up to gently rattle against the window pane, drumming his fingers against the air. 

After a moment the curtains parted. Lin appeared between them and slid up the window, peering down at him from her oblong of light. 

‘What are you doing down there?’ she asked, her voice sounding drowsy.

‘I don’t have a keeeeeey. Let me in?’

‘Are you drunk? Your face is all red.’

‘I’m awesome. Pleeeeeeease let me in.’

‘Well, you’re a metalbender now. If you can’t pick a lock, I’m not sure you deserve to come up here.’ She closed the window and drew the curtains, leaving him in the dark.

‘Awwwww, shoot.’ He kicked a clump of muddy snow and went back to the door, fumbling off his bracelet and rolling it between his fingers. Typical meanie Lin, wanting him to figure out how to do something he’d never tried before. He felt the lock carefully, trying to sense the shapes inside it, the moving parts and the fixed ones. When he thought he knew more or less what he was dealing with, he shaped the end of the bracelet into a sort of probe and tried to poke around inside. It struck him as kind of suggestive, and he had to keep stopping work while he giggled, because he couldn’t feel things properly through the vibrations.

At last he got the tumblers to line up and click into place. ‘Yessss. I am _genius.’_ He opened the door and went in, leaving his coat and wet shoes on the floor and padding upstairs in his socks. The light was still on in Lin’s room, and the door was ajar. He went in eagerly, but found that she was sleeping, curled up in the middle of her bed. Her pyjamas were slung over the footboard, which seemed like an invitation, or at least some kind of declaration of intent.

‘Li-in,’ he called softly, sitting down on the edge. ‘Lin-lin-lin. I’m back. Sorry I took so long. But I did it, look, look.’ He started undressing, humming contentedly. Lin still slept, her face soft and relaxed, one hand curled loosely by her face. Bolin lay down beside her and stroked her cheek with his fingertips.  ‘Wake up...’ He kissed her, nuzzling lightly. ‘Linnnnnn. Hmmm?’  She sighed gently and stretched out a little. ‘Are you faking asleep? Come onnnnnn.’ He touched her breast, stroking, watching her nipple stiffen. He twiddled it between his thumb and forefinger, resting his head on her shoulder. She made a soft ‘mm’ sound and rolled onto her back.

After a moment’s thought, he edged himself over her body on his knees and elbows, shuffling backwards as he dotted a line of kisses down the centre of her chest, then her belly, until he could nuzzle down between her legs, feeling the moist heat on his lips even before they touched her. Her sharp taste bloomed into his mouth, and he traced the warm folds with his tongue, travelling inward. A long, soft sigh escaped from her, and he felt her hips move, lifting and subsiding very slightly. Then she drew her breath in sharply, followed by a pleased moan, and her hand settled on his head. 

‘Were you faking?’ he mumbled.

‘Mm? Keep going...’ Her voice sounded soft and blurry.

‘Mmhm...’

‘That’s right... ahh...’ She lifted her hips and settled them more comfortably. ‘You’ve just... just redeemed yourself for staying out so late I fell asleep.’

‘Sorry.’ He glanced up at her from under his eyebrows, sliding one hand up from her thigh, over her hip to reach up to her breast.

‘S’allright... ooh... all right, back up a little... _there,_ now, stroke...’ Her breathing deepened, and she covered his hand with hers, guiding him to massage her breast. ‘You’re getting so good at this... and you look so cute doing it. Try... try fluttering your tongue, just there... ah!’

‘Mm?’ He could feel her tensing up and trembling in little bursts, and the taste was growing stronger, the wetness slicking his lips and chin thicker. He wrapped his other arm around her thigh, hitching himself up a little, his heart thumping faster as he licked and kissed. She was panting, her hips twitching and her fingers clutching at his hair, little, soft, eager grunts rising in her throat. 

‘Oh... oh Bolin... there... faster...’ She went quiet, gasping, her back arched and quivering, until she fell back with a shudder, her face glowing. ‘Oh!’

‘Can I?’

‘You’d better.’

It was over quickly, though not shamefully so, and he lay in her arms, his face buried in her hair, getting his breath back.

‘Sorry... too fast...’

‘Still good.’ She kissed his temple. ‘I got mine, after all.’

‘I’m still... kind of bad at this.’

‘Listen, I don’t care if you don’t make me come via cock. Tongue was more than enough this time. It was so good just drifting out of sleep and into that. Like a wet dream turning real.’

‘Do girls get those?’

‘Well, we get _sex_ dreams. And we get wet, so you do the math.’ She was tracing a little pattern in the sweat on his back with her fingertips.

‘You are really, really educational.’

‘Most of us masturbate, too.’

‘Yow.’ That was an eye-opener, and he’d just been feeling sleepy, too.

‘Tell me, when did you figure out how to play with yourself?’

‘I... I actually can’t remember when. It seems like something I’ve always done. It helped me get to sleep when I was little. It wasn’t really a _sex_ thing then, though, it just felt nice.’

‘Same for me, really. I figured it out by accident; I was sitting reading with one leg tucked up under me and just sort of absent-mindedly rocking against my foot when I realised it felt really good. So I stopped, because I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on and it made me a little skittish. I tried it again later and it felt good again, and from then on I just furtively rubbed it when I got the chance until I accidentally got myself off. It was a long time before I figured out it had anything to do with sex.’

‘When you say most of us...’

‘Well, a lot won’t admit it, because they think they’re not supposed to. Still, you’re better off with a girl who does, because even if she’s a virgin she’s got some idea about what feels good to her. And here’s where I should definitely mention that it’s different for different women. You can’t just do the same things you do for me with the next girlfriend and expect the same results. Ask her what she likes, and if she’s not sure, start out really gentle. I like it hard and fast but for some girls that just hurts.’

‘I’m not thinking about a next girlfriend yet.’ _You just kind of counted yourself as my current girlfriend and I’m not going to say anything about that, just enjoy it._

‘I am. One of the ways I justify this to myself is that I’m doing her a favour. Getting you all broken in and trained up to make her happy. I expect a nice thank-you card. Perhaps a fruit basket. Get off me now, baby, you’re getting heavy.’

‘I wish I could shrink to kitten size and sleep curled up between your boobs.’ He rolled off and pulled the covers up for both of them, lying propped up on his elbow.

‘You wouldn’t have much cushioning there. When I lie on my back they pretty much disappear.’

‘Well, _I_ like ‘em.’ He gave the nearest one a friendly pat.

‘Are you still drunk?’

‘Noooooo.’

‘I should _not_ have let Bumi take you out. You smell like he smoked all over you.’

‘Aw, he’s fun.’ He adjusted the chain around her neck, centring the silver pendant. ‘He tells good stories, and he can catch a peanut in his mouth, it doesn’t matter how you throw it.’

‘I should’ve known that would impress you. Roll over, little spoon. No... that’s no good, I need to pee.’ She rolled out of bed and padded off to the bathroom.

‘Ooh! Me too! I’m going to prove I can pee with an audience!’

After about forty seconds’ embarrassed staring at a recalcitrant penis, he managed to do the business after Lin turned on the tap to set an example.

‘Congratulations. I’m very proud of you. You don’t actually have to throw up horns in celebration.’

‘Do you think waterbenders ever peebend just for fun?’

‘I’d be amazed if they haven’t. Go wash it. And your hands.’

‘Yes ma’am! Sifu! Chief! Babycakes!’

‘Ah, no, never babycakes.’

Back in bed, she nestled against his back, her soft breathing tickling the nape of his neck.

‘Guess what?’

‘Hrmm?’

‘I think I might take the day off tomorrow.’

‘Really?’

‘Teach you wire-work.’

‘Awesome.’


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I squoze out another chapter; I thought this thing was stalled for good. It feels a bit forced at the moment but at least I moved it along.

Bolin drifted awake, slowly and cosily, piecing together how they were entangled, Lin’s head on his shoulder, well, sort of the shoulder/chest junction, one arm slung over his belly, her other arm curled in to her chest. One leg was slung over and draped between his. Her hair had gone crazy again in the night, and he felt very fond of its wiry wildness. There couldn’t be many people who ever saw her like this. Her mouth was just a little bit open, and she had a loose eyelash on her cheek. How could someone look so messy and so beautiful? That was always the way she was, though; he found her so gorgeous in her sweat and her dirt, her scrapes and her bruises. And her deep jade-green eyes, her sharp, high cheekbones, her fine, fair skin... her strong, agile hands, smooth oval nails trimmed short, little white scars scattered over her knuckles. 

He couldn’t quite decide whether he wanted to wake her again, or just lie here comfortably and moon over her. He thought of the picture in Bumi’s wallet, that fearless little girl smiling at him out of the past. She looked like someone it would have been fun to know. He wanted to ask her about that summer, about their adventures, about her side of Bumi’s stories. He still wasn’t sure what to do about Bumi and all that nosy secretive weirdness; it should be Bumi’s responsibility to fess up, but now that _he_ knew about it, didn’t he have some kind of responsibility too? Well, if Lin asked him directly, something like ‘Does Bumi suspect anything about me and you?’ he’d tell her the truth. And he would talk the whole thing over with Asami, who besides being the only person he _could_ tell about it, was kind and sensible and he was pretty sure, smarter than he was. They’d figure something out.

He and Lin spent the first part of the morning in and out of bed, sometimes making it as far as the bathroom before they got sidetracked and went back.

‘Wasn’t I _teaching_ you something today?’ Lin asked. She was sitting up against the pillows with Bolin resting his head in her lap, curling a lock of his hair around her forefinger.

‘All kindsa things.’

‘Wire-work,’ she said, tugging. ‘But you’re distracting me with your trampy ways.’

‘Mm-hmm.’ He fluttered his eyelashes up at her and made a kissy-face. ‘Anyway, I bet we could do wirey stuff here. You’ve got enough metal lying around.’

‘Not the same. I was going to set you up with a practice rig and get you scrabbling up the walls like a spider.’

‘I’m allowed to do that? Without a badge or anything?’ It did sound pretty cool, but not remotely as appealing as staying where he was. He turned his head and kissed her belly, since it was right there. 

‘Just for practice, baby. Not actually out on the street where you might mess someone up.’ 

‘So... I mean... you want me to join the police, right? If you’re teaching me that?’

‘Not necessarily. You could be a circus acrobat. I considered it at one point, in my rebellious phase.’

‘You would be the most _awesome_ acrobat. Let’s do that! You quit the police again, and I’ll buy us a tent, and we’ll be a circus! We’ve got Pabu for a cute animal act, you can be the sexy badass ringmaster, I’ll be the acrobat strongman clown in spangly tights, it’ll be perfect!’ He sat up and grabbed her hands between his, beaming.

‘You can’t afford a tent,’ Lin pointed out stonily, as if this were the one flaw.

‘Can I borrow some money for a tent? Please, Lin? Sweet potata?’

 _‘What_ did you call me, kid?’

‘Nothing. So no circus? I think we would make _great_ circus folk.’

‘Sometimes I don’t know if you’re playing or not.’ She was interrupted by the phone ringing. ‘Hold on.’ She rolled onto her side, stretching to pick up the phone, and Bolin flopped down beside her. ‘Beifong. Oh?’ She looked down at him. ‘It’s for you. Asami.’

Bolin felt a twinge of anxiety as he took the phone. ‘Hey, Asami? Everything okay?’ _Please no more break-ins or attacks._

‘Hi. Everything’s fine. I hope I haven’t got you in trouble with Lin, but I needed to get hold of you and I remembered the number.’

‘What’s up?’

‘I had a call from Mako. He’s worried about you - well, he sounded angry, but I think he was worried underneath that. He wants to know where the heck you are, why you’re not around to help Korra, what you think you’re up to, that type of thing.’

‘Oh,’ he said, feeling a touch guilty.

‘Yeah, so I think you should probably go home for a while, at least to calm him down.’

‘I don’t know if I really want to,’ he admitted. ‘I’m still kind of sore at him for the way he yelled at you. You didn’t deserve that.’

‘Don’t stay away on my account,’ Asami said. ‘He’s your brother; you should try to make up. Besides, it sounds like Korra misses you.’

‘Yeah, I miss her too. Everything’s so complicated.’ He sighed, and Lin looked at him questioningly. ‘Okay, I’ll go home this afternoon, I guess. Thanks for letting me know. And for dealing with Mako being a grouch on the phone.’

‘Well, I didn’t tell him where you were, because I thought he might not stop at calling on the phone, he might just charge round there and drag you out of b-wherever you are.’

‘Bwherever I are?’

‘Bwherever,’ Asami repeated firmly. ‘Call me tomorrow, let me know how it goes. I’m up to my eyes in paperwork. Getting a business started again is _complicated.’_

‘You’re going to do great!’

‘Thank you.’ He could hear the smile in her voice. ‘Okay. Bye.’

‘Bye-bye.’ He gave the phone back to Lin, who replaced it on the bedside table.

‘You’re going home?’ She settled beside him again, draping one arm over his waist.

‘Yeah, well, Air Temple Island, which I guess is home for now. Huh. It might actually stay being home, I don’t know. Mako’ll want to stay close to Korra for sure.’

‘Do you want to stay close to Mako, or do you think it’s time you had your own place?’

‘I’m really mixed up. I’ve always lived with Mako, he’s the only person who’s always been there for me. And I want to help Korra, because she’s my friend and she has so much to do and she could really use people to have her back, but all of that applies to Asami too, and she’s in the city, and so are you, and I want to be with you as much as I can. I mean, I’d join the police just so I could be with you all day as well as all night.’

‘Which is a really strong reason against you joining the police. One, you wouldn’t see me much as a rookie anyway. If I promoted you right away or gave you some special job in my office, it’d look funny. Two, you’d actually have a _job_ to do. It’s not all quickies in the evidence room.’

‘But if there would be _some_ quickies in the evidence room...’ He snuggled into her side and kissed her shoulder.

‘No. Seriously, baby, only join the police if you want to join _the police._ If I wasn’t going to be there at all, would it still be worth it to you? If the day you signed up, I moved to Ba Sing Se?’

‘Well, then I would just join the Dai Li,’ he said stoutly.

‘Yeah? How do you feel about a three-hour written exam that requires you to write two essays and an original poem?’

‘A _poem?’_

‘They’re very cultural in the Dai Li. It was the poems that really impressed my mother. No, I tell a lie; it was the rock-smashing. A few officers came out to help her set up the Republic City police force.’ She glanced at him sidelong. ‘And one of them became my father.’

‘Really? With poems and rocks?’ _That was dumb! Don’t be dumb, you’ll make her stop telling!_

‘Mm-hmm. I’ve read his poems, which I suppose goes some way towards knowing him.’

‘He wasn’t around for you?’

‘I think he would have been if he could, but he died before I was born.’

‘I’m sorry. That’s so sad.’

‘Well. It was nothing dramatic. He didn’t even die in the line of duty. It was winter; he slipped on some ice, fell and hit his head in just the wrong way. I think that really galled my mother, that there wasn’t a point to his death; nobody killed him, he didn’t get to go bravely... his last thought must have been “whoops”. Sometimes I used to feel bad about not really missing him.’

Bolin didn’t know what to say. The silence stretched out until he tried ‘Thank you for telling me.’

‘It’s not a secret. You could have looked it up if you went through old newspapers at the library. Just find my birth announcement.’

‘Yeah, but... I mean, I don’t want to find out about you by snooping. I want you to tell me, because you want to. Then it’s like you’re giving me something, not like I’m stealing it.’

‘Do you feel like I stole something from you, looking into your background before I invited you here?’

‘No.’ He shrugged. ‘None of that’s a secret either.’

‘I think that’s very brave of you.’ She gave him a small, fond smile.

‘Why?’

‘Well, your parents...’

‘To tell you the truth, I miss them, I miss the _lack_ of them... but I don’t remember them all that well. I used to get upset sometimes, like you being upset that you didn’t miss your dad, because I’d think I had a memory of them doing something kind for me, and then I’d realise that was really Mako. And I was glad to have Mako, but I wished I had more real memories of Mom and Dad. What?’ Lin was looking at him oddly, as if she was really concerned about him. ‘Do you think that’s weird?’

‘Bolin... what do you know about your parents’ death?’

‘They got mugged by a firebender, and I guess he panicked or he just didn’t want them to be able to identify him... he killed them.’ She was shaking her head slowly. ‘What? You’re freaking me out.’

‘I’m so sorry to spring this on you. I assumed you knew.’ She lifted herself up on her elbow, as if being closer to upright made it easier to deliver bad news. ‘It wasn’t a mugging.’

‘Then why’d he kill them? I mean, are you saying there wasn’t a firebender at all?’

‘No - there was. I mean, it wasn’t a mugging, it was a hit.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Your parents... your parents worked, in a small capacity, for one of the triads. It’s defunct now - the Earthquakes. There was a dispute with the Agni Kais, a territorial thing, and your parents were unlucky enough to be chosen to make an example.’

‘You’re kidding me.’ He felt cold and dizzy, even lying down with the thick, soft quilt over them.

‘I would never kid you about anything important. Bolin, this doesn’t reflect on you. If I thought it did, you wouldn’t be here now.’

‘Does Mako know?’

‘I have no idea. Baby, are - are you okay?’ She put her hand on his shoulder, awkwardly. ‘They weren’t necessarily bad people. They may have felt they had no choice.’

‘Of course they weren’t bad people!’ he snapped, and felt bad about it immediately. ‘They... they would’ve been trying to protect Mako and me,’ he mumbled.

‘I wish I hadn’t said anything.’

‘It’s not your fault. I never tried to find out because I thought I already knew. I mean, so many people have got a story like that. I - I don’t know what to do.’

‘There isn’t really anything _to_ do. I wish I hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t hurting you to think your parents were innocent. This is like when I found out about my mother’s grifting period.’

‘Whaaat?’

‘Oh, she used to rip off those guys who run shell games on the street when she was a kid. Katara stopped her pretty quickly, but she was always proud of it.’

‘Aw, well, those guys suck.’ Bolin skooched himself into the crook of her arm. ‘I need a hug. You tell someone their parents were crooks, you have to give them a hug, that’s the rule. I’m surprised you don’t know.’

‘Okay.’ She wrapped him up and patted his back uncertainly. ‘You traumatised?’

‘This is so weird. I don’t know what to _do_ with it. I’ll have to tell Mako. Oh, man, this is going to be hard.’

‘You don’t have to. I mean, it’s upset you; it doesn’t have to upset him.’

 _‘Another_ thing I don’t tell Mako?’ He looked up at her plaintively.

‘You don’t have to. I’m just saying you could. It’s all up to you.’

‘Eargh, I wish you _would_ tell me what to do.’

‘Okay, baby.’ She smoothed down his hair. ‘Don’t tell him, unless one day you really think he needs to know. Otherwise, he _doesn’t_ need to know. There, mean old Lin laid down the law and there’s nothing you can do.’

‘Aw, thanks, mean old Lin.’

‘Yeah, okay, less of the old.’

‘You started it.’ He kissed her cheek to compensate. ‘Want to mess around one more time before I go?’ He slipped his hand between her legs and stroked the inside of her thigh.

‘I always _want_ to, but I’m getting sore.’

‘Want me to kiss it better?’

‘You don’t mind that it’s all sticky and spunky?’

‘It’s my spunk, I put it there, so why should _I_ mind?’

‘You are so _reasonable_ in your horniness. I like that. Okay, turn round and we’ll top and tail.’

 

He still didn’t want to leave her, and played for time in the front hall, leaning her up against the wall to kiss her goodbye repeatedly.

‘What am I going to do with you, baby?’ Lin pushed him back gently, one firm hand on his chest, but not far enough to make him let go of her.

‘Keep me forever.’

‘I want to, but - now cut that out. Be good. Don’t whine.’

‘Hnnnnnnhhh...’

‘Cut it out, or I’ll have to start calling you puppy instead of baby.’ She pushed again and he had to step back, his hands on her shoulders instead of his arms wrapped around them. 

‘Puppy works for me too. You rub my belly and I’ll hump your leg.’

‘No. You’re going. _You_ decided.’ She gave his face a hard pat, not quite a slap but a tap with her flat fingers. ‘Get moving.’

‘Okay... let me just kiss you goodbye.’

‘You’ve been kissing me for fifteen minutes. I’m actually ready for you to go. Okay. One kiss. No funny business. Minor tongue accepted.’

He made his way down the street, loafing along reluctantly with his hands in his pockets, gradually becoming aware that he was very hungry. He was well out of Lin’s classy neighbourhood by the time he decided he couldn’t wait to get home to eat, and ducked into one of those little curtained hot-food stalls. The proprietor was oiling the grill and looking daggers at some poor slob sitting slumped over with his head on the counter.

‘Hi!’ Bolin said, pulling out a stool and sitting down. ‘What’s good?’ He could afford to treat himself; Lin had tucked a couple of bills into his pocket as she pushed him out the door.

‘The chow mein,’ the man said. He was a thickset guy whose apron could have served as a menu; just point at a stain you thought looked tasty. ‘It’s on the house if you can get rid of that asshole.’

‘Why’s he an asshole?’ Bolin asked, looking at the slumped dude with interest.

‘Because he won’t leave, and he keeps sighing lug-ub-riously, and saying shit that puts my customers off their food. Asshole bought one cup of tea and he won’t move.’

‘Maybe he’s just bummed,’ Bolin said. He leaned over and patted the slumper’s shoulder. ‘Hey, buddy, you okay?’

The slumper rolled his head so that his face was toward Bolin, and looked at him with heavily shadowed, bloodshot eyes.

‘Tahno?’ He wasn’t quite sure; if it _was_ Tahno he looked like trampled crap.

‘Ugh, you,’ said Tahno.

‘You know him? Okay, he’s yours,’ said the cook. ‘Chicken chow mein coming up.’ He turned his back to them, stuck a wok on a burner and started throwing things in it.

‘So, uh, you didn’t say. Are you okay?’

‘What kind of moronic question is that? I’ve lost my bending. I’ve lost my career, my apartment, my fans, my future. I’m not okay. I’m fucked up.’

‘I know that must be really hard. But you’ve put your name in, right? It may take a while, but Korra will fix you up.’

‘I don’t want her to _fix me up._ My bending was _mine._ I don’t want charity from her. Besides. Besides! This has been a real eye opener, let me tell you.’ Tahno seemed to be getting pissed off, but at least that was energising him. He sat up, releasing a sour waft of BO when he moved. A hank of his hair was sticking greasily to his cheek. ‘People are assholes. They act like you’re friends, like they admire you, but when something goes wrong they don’t want to know you. I used to be up to my _neck_ in bitches, but you think I can even get a couch to sleep on, let alone a shoulder to cry on?’

‘I can’t imagine why.’

‘You - _you! -_ are the first person in weeks to give a _shit_ about whether I’m okay, and that’s so pathetic I think I’m going to cry.’ He put his forehead back down on the counter with a wooden clunk.

‘C’mon, Tahno, I know you feel crappy but I promise it’s not that bad. And it’s not charity, Korra, I mean. My - my metalbending teacher, she says she doesn’t think the bending is _gone,_ it’s just really deeply blocked. Sure, only the Avatar can take the block out, but it’s still _your_ bending, the same as it always was.’

‘What would you know,’ Tahno mumbled, face down.

‘Well, _I_ don’t know, but she does, my teacher, since it actually happened to her and she knows how it felt. Come on.... sit up, have something to eat. You’ll feel better.’ He caught the cook’s eye and held up two fingers. The cook rolled said eye but nodded.

Tahno claimed not to be hungry, but ate two plates of stir-fried noodles to Bolin’s three, and developed a slightly better colour in his cheeks. He still smelt, obviously. Bolin had noticed a duffel bag on the floor at his feet, probably containing all the stuff he had left after losing his home. He made up his mind.

‘Hey, can you wait here a bit? I have to go make a call.’

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Tahno said sullenly, to a snort of agreement from the cook, who clearly felt Bolin was letting him down. 

He couldn’t see a phone booth, but went into a store where, by asking nicely and having on a very respectable coat that covered his dirty clothes, he was allowed to use theirs. Wei answered the phone at Asami’s, and put him through to her.

‘Hey,’ she said, sounding relieved to be distracted. ‘What’s up? You home yet?’

‘I’m trying to get there, but I ran into someone. Do you remember that guy Tahno, from the Wolfbats? We played them in the tournament final?’

‘I remember he seemed like a big jerky cheat,’ Asami replied. ‘So you have my sympathies, if you ran into him.’

‘See, that’s the thing. He’s in a really bad way. Amon took his bending so he can’t work, he’s lost his apartment, and he just seems really lonely and depressed. He smells funky too.’

‘What do you want to do? Take him home with you and ask Korra to help him?’

‘Well, see, _that’s_ the thing, he keeps griping about Korra, I really don’t think he wants to be around her. I was wondering, and I know this is reeeeally pushing my luck, but you have a lot of rooms free at your house, right?’

‘You want me to let him stay here?’ 

‘Maybe? Please? Just so he can get cleaned up and into a better frame of mind. Then we can try Korra.’ He waited, nervously, wishing he could look her in the face and attempt puppy dog eyes.

‘Really, Bolin, why?’ Asami said, after a long pause.

‘I just feel like... someone needs to be there for him.’ He heard her sigh, and felt pretty sure it was a no go.

‘I’m not saying yes because I personally give a hoot about _him,’_ Asami said. ‘I’m saying yes because _you_ care, and you’re about the sweetest person I know.’

‘So you _are_ saying yes?’

‘Yeah, I’m saying yes, but if he’s a problem he can find somewhere else. Does that sound fair?’

‘Totally fair! Thank you _so_ much, Asami, I’ll totally pay you back, somehow! Can I bring him over now?’

Tahno didn’t appear as grateful as Bolin thought he should, but did allow that it would be nice to have a place to take a hot bath and sleep in a bed. He seemed half awake, as if most of his energy had gone the way of his bending. He followed Bolin to Asami’s house without showing any particular curiosity about the place he was going, and nor did he seem particularly impressed by the size and style of the house. Wei showed them to one of the smaller guest bedrooms, where Tahno flopped onto the bed and lay facing the wall.

‘Okay, so, I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll come by tomorrow, okay? Okay.’ Bolin waved awkwardly and got going. He still had the long walk back down to the wharves ahead of him, then a cold ride on a water taxi. When he finally trudged up the path to the Air Temple, he felt far more tired than he should for the early afternoon, though the way he’d spent his night and morning could have accounted for that too. There didn’t seem to be many people around, though in the family living room he found Jinora, sitting cross-legged on the mat and reading, with Pabu cradled in her lap, belly up, getting said belly stroked in between page turns. He looked utterly contented and a little fatter already. Bolin felt a pang of pet jealousy, but it would have felt mean to disturb them; he just stood in the doorway, half hidden by the sliding door, watching them. 

‘Hello,’ a quiet voice said behind him, and he turned to see Tenzin, carrying the new baby against his shoulder. It felt weird to see him, knowing all the new things about him that he did now; weirder still to think that he was talking to someone else who’d been even closer to Lin than he was. His gut suddenly flip-flopped from pet jealousy to advanced Lin jealousy, with the complicating factors of gratitude and the fact that it surely didn’t matter a damn any more, I mean, here was the man holding the fourth baby he’d had with the completely different woman he married.

‘Hi. Um, everything okay?’

‘We’re fine. I wanted to thank you for leaving Pabu here - he’s kept the children entertained, which has been an enormous help when we’re busy with Rohan.’ The baby was grizzling faintly, and his tiny face was scrunched up.

‘Aw, is he not feeling well?’

‘He’s in rude health. I just can’t get him to burp, so he’s got a bellyache. Would you like to try?’

‘Wow, really? Okay.’ He gingerly accepted the little warm body as Tenzin passed it over, cupping Rohan’s soft neck and head with his palm as instructed, and resting his weight against his own shoulder. 

‘Here,’ Tenzin added, tucking a piece of cloth between Rohan’s chin and Bolin’s shoulder. ‘He’s likely to spit up a little. Now, just pat gently on his back.’

‘Wow,’ Bolin said again, knowing he sounded foolish. The baby was just so tiny and warm and _alive,_ and it was so weird to think that this little pink-faced creature whose butt he was holding was going to grow into a complete human being who walked and talked and did stuff all on his own. The top of his little head was touching Bolin’s cheek, and it was unbelievably soft, the hair downy like a chick’s feathers, with a little fluttering pulse in it. His own chest felt all warm and fluttery too. He thought of when Lin had held the baby, uncomfortable as she’d looked, and had just a moment’s idiotic fantasy of the two of them, him older and her younger, with one of their own. The reverie broke when Rohan burped right by his ear, amazingly loudly for such a small person, then yakked up about a teaspoonful of smelly yellow-white stuff onto the muslin cloth.

‘That’s my boy!’ Tenzin exclaimed proudly, and took Rohan back, wiping his chin with the muslin. ‘What a good boy. Don’t you feel better now? All right, it’s time for a nap.’

‘A nap sounds good. It sounds _really_ good. Listen, if Mako calls or whatever, will you tell him I came home?’

‘Of course. And well done. You’re a natural.’ Tenzin gave him a grave look over the top of Rohan’s head. ‘Are _you_ all right, Bolin?’

‘I’m fine! Top of the world.’

‘I hope you know that I’m not just here for Korra. If I can advise or help you in any way, please talk to me.’

‘I will. Thanks. Um. Okay, I’m going to snag that nap.’

He had a long, muddled dream in which he ran from floor to floor of the Boomerangs department store, where he had found something amazing, he wasn’t sure what; he wanted to find someone to show it to, but whenever he found someone and brought them to it, it had disappeared or changed. Eventually he ended up in the fourth-floor salon, where Asami expected him to give her a massage. He was trying to do so without enjoying it too much, and wondering at what point he had put on a pink smock, at which point Lin appeared, also in a pink smock, and instead of being angry, started telling him how to do it properly, at which point he realised it was one of _those_ dreams and just enjoyed it.

He woke up in the early evening, feeling happy but sticky and vaguely wondering where his dream had come up with so many enjoyably squishy details about Asami’s body. Pabu had come back to him and was curled up on the pillow by his cheek, and they had a good cuddly reunion. It was well past time he had a bath and a change of clothes, so he dug up a clean outfit and made his way to the bathroom, Pabu back in his accustomed place around his shoulders, so happy to be back with him that he couldn’t keep still, rolling and squirming and rubbing his cheeks against Bolin’s nose and chin. 

In the bathroom Pabu chose to remain aloof while Bolin had a good all-over scrub and rinse. Once he had lowered himself into the bath to soak, Pabu walked around the rim of the bath sniffing and dragging his tail in the water, and they chattered and squeaked companionably to each other. Everything was going well until Mako arrived.

‘Oh, hi,’ Bolin said, skooching down lower in the water. It was a little cloudy with bath salts, and he hoped that gave him some camouflage for the love-bites on his shoulders.

‘Hey,’ Mako said. ‘You always leave the door unlocked? What if one of the girls walks in?’

‘I just forgot. And it’s not like they’d be all freaked out; they’ve got a dad and a brother.’ He sank lower, immersing his chin. ‘Two brothers. One’s just really teeny.’

‘I was thinking more of Korra,’ Mako said, taking off his shirt.

‘Oh, well, of course, Korra’s brain would explode,’ Bolin mumbled. 

‘What?’

‘How is Korra, anyway? She doing okay?’

‘Yeah, just tired and overwhelmed. She’s been having really intense dreams and trying to figure out what they mean. I try to help, but I’m no good at that kind of thing.’ Mako finished undressing and sat down to wash his hair.

‘Dreams are really weird,’ Bolin said, trying to sound sympathetic and wondering what was up with Mako. He had been worried enough about him to phone Asami and ask where he was, but now he was behaving as if nothing had happened. Well, maybe seeing him, he was no longer worried so he didn’t have anything to say? ‘So how are _you_ doing?’

‘I’m okay. Just trying to keep up with Korra. I could use some help, but apparently you’re too busy.’

‘Sorry. There’s been a lot going on. I can stay for a while now, though.’

‘If Asami can spare you.’

‘Actually, I’ve been spending more time with Lin - I could show you some of the metalbending I’ve learned. It’s really cool. I bet Korra would like it too.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Mako actually sounded a little interested. He rinsed off and climbed down into the bath, sinking back with his head on the edge and his eyes closed. ‘Well, at least you’re learning something useful.’

‘Sure am. It’s so weird and neat to find I can do things I never knew about - things just keep slipping into place. It’s not just that I can do metalbending - I can do _art._ If I can imagine a shape, I can make it. I want to try it with rock, too.’

‘That’s great,’ Mako said, and nothing more. Bolin sat there with the water lapping at his chin and Pabu sniffing at his wet hair, and wondered what he was saying or doing wrong. Maybe he should just duck him to break the tension.

The door opened and he looked up, startled, but it was only Bumi. Well, that made sense, he was an uncle of the house and could use the family bathroom; had more of a right to it than they did.

‘Hey, fellas, mind if I sluice off?’

‘No, go ahead,’ Bolin said. Mako lifted his head from the rim of the bath and gave him a Look.

‘There are already two of us in here,’ he said. 

‘So? It’s a big bath, we’ll all have room.’

‘Spoken like a true nephew of mine,’ said Bumi.

‘He’s not your nephew,’ Mako said, looking bewildered. 

‘He’s my honorary uncle,’ Bolin explained. ‘We decided last night. You can be too.’

‘Not unless he proves himself; no offence, kid, but I can’t take just anyone,’ Bumi said, deshirting himself.

‘Wow, you have a lot of tattoos,’ Bolin said.

‘I can make some of them dance!’ Bumi turned his back and wriggled his shoulderblades, making the blue and red dragons inked there shimmy.

‘Coooool. Mako, look at this!’

‘I’d much rather not,’ Mako said, closing his eyes again.

‘See, that’s why you’re not my nephew,’ Bumi said, stepping out of his pants. ‘My little buddy Bolin, however, appreciates this family time, and is aware of the privilege of having an illustrated uncle.’

‘The dragons go all over!’ Bolin exclaimed, deeply impressed. 

‘Yeah, I keep adding to ‘em,’ Bumi said, coming over and kneeling down to show his forearm. ‘This is old number one, this guy wrapped around my arm with his tail in his mouth. He’s kind of faded and blurry now, but I love him. And this is my latest, here on my shoulder, just squoze in between Greenie and Goldie - isn’t he cute? Got him when I heard Rohan was on the way. This one on my belly’s for Meelo, the guy over my knee’s for Ikki and the one going along my ribs here is Jinora’s. Uh - let’s just say this one’s yours, okay? Going round my elbow.’ He ruffled Bolin’s hair and went off to wash himself.

‘Cool! Do they hurt a lot?’ Bolin twisted around and rested his chin on the side of the bath, the grain of the cedar wood pressing into his skin.

‘Not that bad,’ Bumi said, lathering under his arms. ‘It feels like you’re just sitting there letting a cat scratch a picture onto you. No, wait! I mean they’re agony, I had to be incredibly brave to get ‘em!’

‘I thought I might get a fire ferret one day. For the team and for Pabu. And just ‘cause it would look cool. Hey, Mako! What if you and me and Korra each got one, matching?’

‘I don’t want a tattoo,’ Mako said, without opening his eyes. ‘And you’re too young.’

‘I got old number one when I was fourteen,’ said Bumi, ‘though I admit that made my mom yell at me so hard she got a nosebleed. I was not an easy child to raise.’

‘Yeah, neither am I,’ Bolin said, grinning. ‘Mako dyes his hair. It’s grey.’

‘Welp, all my dragons are pretty clean now,’ Bumi said. He dumped a bucket of hot water over his head, snorted and shook himself like a dog, his hair standing out in wet spikes in all directions. He gave Bolin a grin in return. ‘Gotta have clean dragons.’ He went over to the heap of his cast-off clothes and dug in the pockets, then came back and stepped into the bath with a cigar and a match in hand. ‘Mind if I smoke?’

 _‘Yes,’_ said Mako, but Bumi had already struck the match on his thumbnail and was puffing the cigar into life. He draped his elbows back over the rim of the bath, took the cigar out of his mouth and blew a large, shivering smoke ring, which he allowed to spread for a moment before firing a smaller ring through its middle. The smoke dissipated to join the steam in the air.

‘Damn, kid, who gave you all those hickeys?’ Bumi asked.

Bolin shrugged down under the water, his face turning crimson. He’d started to relax and forgotten he was meant to be hiding that. 

‘Asami sure hasn’t wasted any time moving on,’ Mako said, lifting his head. ‘You want to tell her she’s not very convincing when she tries to make out you’re not at her house?’

‘I _wasn’t_ at her house,’ Bolin said, stung.

‘Wait,’ said Bumi, half-smiling and pointing his cigar at Mako. ‘This is you getting mad that the girl you cheated on and dumped is over you already?’

‘I don’t have to take this,’ Mako said, getting up. ‘Is this your idea of getting back at me, Bolin? Catching Asami on the rebound? It’s pathetic. Both of you.’

‘I’ve told you it’s not like that, and if you won’t believe me, I’m not going to keep trying to convince you,’ Bolin said, and folded his arms.

‘Yeah. _Right.’_ Mako climbed out of the bath and wrapped himself in a towel, gathered up his clothes and left. 

‘Uncle Bumi!’ Bolin yelped reproachfully. ‘Why’d you have to say that?’

‘Have you _seen_ you? Better if he thinks Asami chewed you up than he figures out the truth. I’m looking out for Lin here.’

‘How do you even know about Asami and the cheating and the dumping? Who’ve you been talking to?’

‘Mostly Ikki, but I fact-check with Jinora.’

‘Well, okay, but when are you going to talk to Lin? She needs to know you know. It’s just dumb to make it more complicated.’

‘She’ll kick my ass!’ Bumi protested.

‘Your ass has a dragon on it. I think it’ll survive. Lin’s your friend. You need to be honest with her. Come on.’

‘Yeah, okay, you have a point,’ Bumi said, chewing on his cigar sulkily. ‘You know, if I were you, and therefore into girls, I’d end this thing with Lin as fast as possible. Don’t be a dick about it, tell her you’ll treasure the memories and stuff, but it’s not going to work out. Then go for Asami, seriously. You think girls like that show up every day?’

‘Well, look, think about it from Asami’s point of view. You think she wants to go out with her crappy cheating ex-boyfriend’s little brother? She doesn’t want a new boyfriend yet anyway. And from _my_ point of view, I want to be with Lin, for as long as I can. There’s no way I’ll be the one to call that off.’

‘Your funeral,’ said Bumi, shrugging and blowing another smoke ring.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to AlanG for some suggestions about the way Mako thinks. 
> 
> It may go without saying, but Bumi's version of the game Redemption is pretty much Calvinball with bending.

Bolin felt better physically, for having had a bath and put on clean clothes, but all rumpled up in spirit. He was _still_ angry with Mako, and it wasn’t getting any better, and he wasn’t used to _going on_ feeling angry like this. He was a bit annoyed with Bumi, too, who he’d hoped would be a better confidante, but clearly didn’t really understand how he felt about Lin or Asami, or care enough about how _they_ felt. There were compensations for having come back, of course; Pabu was pleased to see him, and so was Korra at dinner. 

‘Hey, stranger!’ she said as he sat down. ‘I missed you. Learned any new metalbending tricks?’

‘Yeah, I can pick a lock now.’

 _‘Lin_ taught you how to pick a lock?’

‘She pretty much just made me figure out how to do it on my own. But I did! So now I’m all set for a life of crime.’

‘Oh! You should be a gentleman thief and safecracker,’ said Jinora, looking up from her book.

‘I think I’d better not, or Lin and Mako would take turns kicking my ass.’

‘Well, if you’re too much of a coward, you shouldn’t say things that raise a person’s hopes of adventure,’ she said, raising the book to screen her face again.

‘Haven’t you had enough adventures lately, without encouraging Bolin to be a felon?’ Tenzin asked her.

‘I just want things to be interesting.’

‘Yeah, that adventure’s _over_ now,’ said Ikki.

‘For you,’ said Korra. ‘The rest of us are still dealing with the clean-up. I am _pooped.’_

‘You should take a break,’ said Mako. ‘It’s no good if you wear yourself out. Just tell them you need a rest day; what are they going to do?’

‘They’re counting on me, though, and I _can_ do it.’

‘It might be nice if you had time to do something with me. We haven’t gone out once since... we haven’t gone out once.’

‘Oh,’ Korra said, her face falling. ‘Mako, I’m sorry, I didn’t think...’

‘You don’t like going out,’ Bolin said, puzzled. ‘You’re Mister Staying In. I quote, “going out is a wate of money”.’

‘Really? This is what you decide to contribute?’ Mako asked. ‘Anyway, we don’t have to spend a lot of money. We could... go for a walk.’

‘You could go for a walk here on the island,’ Ikki said. ‘There are lots of nice tracks. You could go after dinner. I could carry a lantern for you and hum romantic music!’

‘Or you could take your bath and go to bed. Which do you think is more likely?’ Tenzin asked.

‘Ooaaaawwwwwww.’

‘Don’t worry, Ikki, we’ll have a just-us-girls bath with bubbles,’ Jinora said. ‘Where is Meelo, anyway?’

‘Asleep with your mother - well, she’s having an early night, and he’s sleeping on the floor under Rohan’s crib,’ said Tenzin. ‘I don’t pretend to understand it, but it beats wandering the house in the small hours the way he did last night.’

‘And where’s Uncle Bumi? He was going to read to us tonight,’ Ikki said.

‘He had to go over to the city for something. I’m sure he’ll read to you tomorrow.’

‘Well it’s not the same in the _daylight._ He was going to be a werewolf and terrify us. He can actually _transform his face,’_ Ikki said in tones of awed dread.

‘I could read to you,’ Bolin offered. ‘I’m not saying I can transform my face, but I do pretty good voices.’

Their final verdict was that, although his face was too friendly for him to be really scary, his howling was first rate.

 

When he went out for a run before breakfast, he found Bumi stretching in the courtyard, with a black eye. 

‘Uh, good morning. What happened?’

‘I did what you told me, I talked to Lin, she socked me,’ Bumi said cheerfully.  

‘Oh. I’m - I’m sorry.’

‘Well, she gave me this one in the eye for not being straight with her in the first place. And she gave me another good one in the gut for not realising she knew I knew. Then I flipped her on her back for not telling me she knew I knew, and she bounced up and kicked me in the chin for being an ass generally and then we shook hands and had a drink and I think we’re okay now.’

‘She knew you knew?’ Bolin asked, trying to keep up.

‘She figured out I’d figured it out like five guys ago! Back with the little yoga instructor dude!’

‘Little yoga instructor dude?’

‘Don’t worry, kid, he’s long gone.’

‘I’m not all that flexible, and -’ Bolin stopped himself for once. ‘So she’s okay? She’s not upset or mad?’

‘Yeah, I really think she is. Which was a relief.’

‘It’s _such_ a relief. Okay, that’s one thing off my list of worries. Now I just have, let’s see.’ He counted on his fingers. ‘How to help Asami, how to help Korra, what’s up with Mako, oh yeah, how to help Tahno now. Wait, no, I forgot a worry. This one is your fault: now Mako’s _sure_ I’m together with Asami, because you had to go and point out my hickies.’

‘Yeah. Sorry. Like I said, I was trying to look out for Lin.’

‘I’ve got to look out for both of them, though.’ Bolin sighed, his shoulders sagging. ‘Maybe I should just tell Mako the truth and ask him to keep it secret. If I can’t trust my brother, who can I trust?’

‘Uh-huh,’ said Bumi, his eyes flicking away as if he wanted to be going.

‘But what if he tells me I can’t see Lin any more?’

‘What if he does? Is he your brother or your dad?’

‘Well, he did kind of raise me on his own since our parents died.’

‘Even so, he can’t tell you you can’t see your girlfriend, no matter how old she is or how weird it is. He says don’t go, you say screw you and go, what’s he gonna do?’

‘I don’t know. Tell Tenzin?’

‘What the hell is Tenzin gonna do?’

‘Lin’s worried about it getting out, wrecking her career - she says the fewer people who know, the easier it is to keep secret.’

‘Lin’s paranoid. Sure, if the papers got hold of it there’d be a scandal, but you think Tenzin, or anyone round here, has any reason to want to wreck her life?’

‘I’m not gonna tell anyone without clearing it with Lin first,’ Bolin decided. ‘And I’m going to talk to Asami - I need to go see her today, and I should check on Tahno too, I mean, I’m kind of responsible for him now.’

‘Good idea!’ Bumi clapped him on the shoulder and nodded firmly.

‘You have no idea who Tahno is, do you.’

‘Kid, you have a very complicated life and I confess I’m a little daunted by it.’

 _‘You’re_ daunted? It only just got like this this winter!’

After breakfast, he borrowed the phone and dialled Asami’s number. After getting through Wei, he heard Asami’s voice. She sounded sleepy and relaxed, and he inadvertently imagined her in her bed, remembered how warm it had felt lying next to her, even if they weren’t touching. He gave himself a flick on the forehead to discourage that sort of thing.

‘Good morning. You up yet?’

‘Not yet,’ she said. ‘I have a big meeting this afternoon, with a lot of the former department heads from FI, but since I stayed up really late going over all my papers last night, I thought I’d treat myself to a sleep-in. Were you up with the sun?’

‘Not long after. For your meeting, can I do anything to help? I mean, I don’t understand business but I could carry your stuff. Ooh, I could wear a suit and pretend to be your assistant!’

‘You just want me to buy you a suit,’ Asami said, sounding amused. ‘I can go by myself, but I’d like it if you met me afterwards. We could have tea. Sound good?’

‘Sounds great! Tell me when and where.’ He picked up the pen from the hallstand holding the phone, ready to write on the inside of his arm.

‘There’s a teahouse on Harmony Street called the Yellow Rose. Meet me there at four thirty?’

‘Four thirty, Harmony Street, Yellow Rose. Got it. Hey, I wanted to ask you.’

‘Yeah?’

‘How’s Tahno been?’

‘Honestly, I haven’t seen him. Wei checked up on him a couple of times yesterday, and he took him dinner, but he says he didn’t say anything to him, and he didn’t eat much. As far as I know, he’s just stayed in his room the whole time.’

‘Would it be okay if I came over to check on him? Some time today?’

‘Okay. I mean, I’ll be going out in an hour, to get my hair cut and organise some things, but Wei will let you in any time.’

‘Thanks.’

‘So... is everything okay now? With Mako?’

‘Things kind of stink with Mako. He’s really grumpy. Like nothing I do is right.’

‘Phooey to him,’ Asami said warmly.

‘And he’s convinced you and I are... you know.’

‘Oh, he is, is he?’ A little less warmth.

‘I’m sorry.’ Bolin lowered his voice just in case anyone could overhear. ‘He saw a hickey on my neck from you-know-who, and he jumped to conclusions.’

‘He can think that if he likes,’ Asami said.

‘You don’t care?’

‘I truly can’t be bothered. Maybe he’s just steamed that I never gave _him_ any love-bites.’

‘Oh, um, well...’ He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear that sort of detail, whether because it was private or because it made him think of Asami in a kissing context again. His lips felt warm and the love-bites tingled under his shirt.

‘It’s okay.’ The warmth was back, and she laughed a little. ‘He’ll just have to see that we’re not. We’ll ride it out. I need to get up and dressed. See you this afternoon.’

‘See you.’ He hung up, and turned to see Ikki grinning up at him.

‘Were you on the phone to your giiiiiirlfriend?’ she asked.

‘No, I was on the phone to a _friend_ who is a _girl.’_ He bobbed down and divided the ideas in the air with his hands, _friend_ to the left and _girl_ to the right.

‘Oh, boo.’ She poked her tongue out. ‘You know, I thought Mako and Korra would be really romantic, but they mostly just look tired and grouchy. They hardly make out at all.’

‘You really shouldn’t be spying on them. How would you feel?’

‘I wouldn’t care, I’d be smooching my boyfriend. Like mwah, mwah, mwaaaaah. Do you think they’ll get married?’

‘It’s way too early for them to decide anything like that. They’re too young.’

‘When my grandma and grandpa fell in love, he was _twelve.’_

‘Yeah, but they didn’t get married right that year, did they?’

‘I’m gonna have to wait for _Jinora_ to get married if I want to be a bridesmaid. And she’ll probably never get married unless she can marry a _book._ Or the big _owl_ that lives in a library underground.’

‘I didn’t know you wanted to be a bridesmaid. I’ll make you a deal - if I get married, you’ve got a gig. Just don’t spy on my bro and Korra any more, okay?’

‘Hmm.’ Ikki regarded him skeptically. ‘This isn’t a trick, is it? You’re not planning to be a monk?’

‘On my honour, Ikki, I could never be a monk. I like my hair too much, not to mention the ladies.’

‘But _then_ maybe you’re planning to be a playboy all your life and never settle down!’ She pointed an accusing finger.

‘No! I definitely want to get married one day.’

‘It just seems like I’m giving up on some really good spying for something that might never happen,’ Ikki said, hands on hips now. ‘I mean, you’re funny and you’re nice, but who knows if you’ll find someone to marry you?’

‘I’m sure I can. And if, when I pop the big question, she needs any extra persuasion, I’ll just tell her you’re counting on it.’ He put his hands together and gave her his best sweet pleading smile. ‘So please?’

‘Ehhhh...’ Ikki scrunched up her face, considering, then abruptly brightened up. ‘Okay. They’re pretty boring anyway. See you!’ She scampered off.

‘I like her,’ Bolin told Pabu. ‘I do.’

 

By the time he got to Asami’s house, she had gone out, but Wei let him in as promised and seemed pleased to see him. 

‘The young gentleman has not left his room since he arrived, and he didn’t touch the breakfast I offered him,’ he reported, taking Bolin’s coat and hanging it up. ‘A friend of yours, Master Bolin?’

‘Kiiiind of. I’ll go up and check on him, if that’s okay with you.’

On his way along the upstairs corridor he noticed Asami’s door was standing open, and glanced in for no particular reason; curiosity or nosiness. There was an outfit laid out on the bed, he guessed for her to change into before the big meeting, a really sharp dark red dress with a jacket to go over it. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether what he had in mind was friendly and nice or a bit much, before making up his mind. He went in, found a pad and pencil on her desk, wrote her a note and folded it into the jacket pocket, before he went on to tap at the door of the room where he’d left Tahno the day before.

There was no answer. ‘Hello,’ he called. Still nothing.

‘Tahno, are you awake? It’s me, Bolin. It’s like ten-thirty in the morning. You up?’

Nothing, so he turned the handle and found it was unlocked. ‘Hey, I’m coming in... if you don’t want me to, say something...’

Still nothing, so he opened the door enough to pop his head into the room. The curtains were closed, but he was letting enough light in to see Tahno lying on the bed, on top of the covers, facing the wall, looking pretty much as he had left him yesterday.

‘Are you okay?’ Bolin asked. ‘I thought we could get something to eat.’

‘Go away,’ Tahno said, muffled.

‘Well, no, I can’t do that.’

‘Yeah you can.’

‘Okay. I won’t do that. Come on, you should at least get up and eat breakfast.’ He went over to the window and half opened the curtains, and Pabu jumped down from his shoulder and up on the bed to sniff at Tahno, only to turn his head away and hang his mouth open in his ‘something stinks’ face.

‘Ugh, get your rat off me,’ Tahno groaned, lifting his arm and swatting feebly in the wrong direction.

‘He’s a fire ferret, and he’s cuter than your mascot.’ Bolin scooped Pabu up and lifted him back to his shoulder. ‘Listen, I hate to criticise, but you’re really ripe. Don’t you think you’d feel better if you took a shower? I bet we could find you something clean to wear, too.’

‘No, I don’t. My life is too shitty for a shower to make any difference.’

‘Okay, but I mean physically. I knew some hobos growing up, and if you go without washing and changing your clothes long enough, you get worse than crusty. You can get skin infections, and they can make you really sick. You definitely don’t want that.’

‘Are you calling me a _hobo?’_ Tahno actually rolled over for that, and looked at him indignantly.

‘Not _yet.’_

‘You’ve got a nerve, for a street rat.’

‘Hey, I live indoors now. We can all move up or down the ladder. You skidded down a couple of rungs and I want to help you get back up.’

‘Spare me the pity. I don’t want Korra’s and I don’t want yours.’ Tahno flopped face down again.

‘What makes you think Korra pities you?’

‘I could see it in her eyes the last time I talked to her,’ Tahno mumbled. 

‘Well, I don’t pity you.’

‘Yes you do.’

‘Is pity the same as feel sorry for? I never know. I mean, there’s pity and there’s sympathy and there’s compassion, and I think they all mean the same but people say pity like it means something bad. I think what happened to you sucks and I’d like to help, that’s all. Come on, wash off the funk and have something to eat.’ He put a hand on Tahno’s shoulder, and Tahno shook it off.

‘Leave me alone.’

‘I don’t get why you won’t just take a shower. Surely it’d feel good.’

‘Because I don’t want to be in the water, all right?’ Tahno snapped. ‘You have no idea what it’s like!’

‘Oh. _Oh._ Because you lost your waterbending, showers make you feel sad?’

‘No, they make me feel helpless, hopeless and worthless, thank you so much.’

‘You’re not worthless - look, do you want me to go with you? Would that help?’

_‘No.’_

‘Okay, then. It’s right next door.’

‘How do I make you leave me alone?’

‘Oh, that’s not happening, but if you want me to stop badgering you about the shower, you take the shower.’

‘Ughhhhh,’ Tahno said, but he rolled over and dragged himself off the bed. ‘All right. I’m going.’ 

 

By the time he met Asami at the Yellow Rose, he was tired and grubby again, but cheerful. He sat at a little table with a bowl of, naturally, yellow roses in the centre and fooled with his bracelet while he waited for her. The teahouse was a bright, airy place with sanded wood walls and floors, the waiters and waitresses in crisp yellow aprons. She came in five minutes late, looking bright-eyed, and bent to hug him round the neck before she sat down.

‘What did you do to get so dirty?’ she asked, brushing some plaster dust off the sleeve of her jacket.

‘Well, I took Tahno for a walk and we ended up running into another United Forces group doing street clean-up, and we helped, although he bitched a little, _and_ General Iroh came by, _and_ I got to show him I can metalbend now, so he doesn’t think I’m a doofus any more! I think. Anyway, Tahno went home and I came to meet you. Sorry, I would have changed but I didn’t want to be late. Also the only stuff to change into was your dad’s old clothes. Which Tahno is wearing now.’

‘You want to explain this, too?’ Asami said, taking a piece of paper from her pocket, unfolding it and reading aloud. ‘Dear Awesome-i, crossed out, Asami, THIS IS NOT A GOOD LUCK NOTE because you don’t need luck, you are super smart and organised and badass and you are going to do GREAT TODAY. WE BELIEVE IN YOU, love Bolin and Pabu. And then there’s this drawing I don’t totally understand - are you lifting up rocks with both hands?’

‘Those are pom-poms. We’re your cheerleaders. Rah rah!’

‘Oh! Well, it was a lovely thought. Badly spelled, but lovely.’

‘Phew! I hoped you’d feel that way.’ He leaned back in his chair, smiling.

‘Really, you took Tahno street-cleaning? He got his hands dirty?’

‘Not very dirty. He just pushed a broom. I moved big rubble and he swept up after me and complained. Still, he was _doing_ something, so it was better than lying on his bed being sad, right?’

‘I think so. Listen, are you starving? I didn’t eat lunch because I had butterflies in my stomach, so I’m starving.’

‘I’m always starving.’

‘Good. I’m ordering us one of every kind of cake.’ She waved to a waiter and did so. ‘I feel like I can relax a little.’

‘So the meeting was good?’

‘It was great! I was so nervous, because I had to talk to all the heads of departments of the company, those who aren’t under arrest or disappeared. Most of them are pretty angry with Dad - these are the people who didn’t know what was going on. However, what they all want most is to get Future Industries going again, and what I was afraid of, that they’d turn that anger at me, never happened. We’ve got a plan and we’re going to make our presentation to the city council the day after tomorrow. I’m feeling so good about this, Bolin!’ Her cheeks were pink, and there was a brighter light in her eyes.

‘I’m really happy for you. Is this the kind of place where you can high-five someone over the table?’

‘I think you should hold the high fives until we get the council’s answer. Listen, one reason I asked you to meet me was because I wanted to suggest something to you, but I had to talk to someone else about it first.’

‘Yeah?’ He leaned his elbows on the table, ready to listen. 

‘You’re getting pretty confident with your metalbending, right?’

‘I’m still learning, but yeah, it’s going well.’

‘Well, I wondered if you’d be interested in a job. Industrial and technical metalbending. It’s a growing field and we need more people in our workshops. I discussed it with Mr Naidu, who runs that side of things, and of course he’d like to interview you first, but he seems pretty positive about giving you an apprenticeship. You could develop your metalbending skills, and you could earn while you learn. Does that sound like something you’d like to try?’

‘Wow. I never thought of that; I assumed if I went into a job with metalbending it’d be the police.’

‘If that’s what you’d rather do, of course I understand. I just thought I’d suggest it.’

‘I don’t know. Lin seems like... I don’t know, I’m not sure she wants me to do it. And she keeps saying I shouldn’t do anything because of what _she_ thinks, anyway, I should choose based on what _I_ want. I’m not sure what that is yet.’

‘Well, until the next pro bending season comes round, it would be a good thing for you to earn some money,’ Asami said. She went on, her tone careful, ‘I was wondering if money might be one reason why Mako is grouchy. If he feels he’s got to stick close to Korra and help her out, then he can’t earn any himself. He’s always provided for the two of you, and he may be feeling bad about relying on Tenzin. If you were to get an apprenticeship, that might take a weight off his mind: you’ll be taking a turn to earn the money, and it kind of shows him that you’ll be okay in the future, because you’ll have a trade.’

‘I never thought of that either,’ Bolin said, his face falling. It made him feel awfully young and dumb. ‘I guess I haven’t been pulling my weight.’

‘Honey, it’s okay. You’ve always relied on him because he worked so hard to be reliable. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just think that now is a good opportunity for you to grow, and be a little more independent.’ She reached over and rubbed the back of his hand.

‘It’s not very independent if my friend gets me a job.’

‘So what? People get jobs through connections all the time. You’d still have to do all the work yourself; I can’t come down to the workshop and bend girders for you.’

‘I don’t know, I think you could probably do anything.’

‘Pfft. Here comes our tea.’

 

He didn’t really want to go home, though he knew it was the best thing to do, and would appease Mako. He and Asami had decided that he wouldn’t say anything about the apprenticeship until it was decided, so there was one more thing to keep secret, although at least this wasn’t a secret that would get anyone into trouble or cause hurt feelings, it was just waiting for the right time. He wanted to tell Lin all about it, anyway. Now he was pining for her again, and they had no plans for seeing each other. He wondered if he should leave a message at her house, or _something._ Perhaps just go there and wait for her? Tell Kika to take the night off, and meet her when she came home, possibly in just a dressing gown. He wasn’t sure whether that would be a nice surprise, like the note in Asami’s pocket, or an annoying one.

In the name of being more mature and responsible, though, he went back to Air Temple Island and helped out with the children, supervising Meelo’s bath, which was an alarming experience. When Mako and Korra came home from the day’s rebending session, held at a community hall downtown, he was in the family room making tin daisy-chain necklaces for Jinora and Ikki. 

‘Hey,’ he said, ‘welcome home! Did you have a good day?’

‘Exhausting,’ Korra said, slumping down to sit behind him, flopping back to lean her back against his. ‘There was a protest once word got around of where we were doing it - that Hato radio lady wanting us to at least _try_ to make non-benders into benders.’

‘I’ll get you some tea,’ Mako said, crouching down to drop a kiss on Korra’s forehead before he left the room. 

‘Can you do that?’ Ikki asked, climbing into Korra’s lap. 

‘I have no idea! And I have too much to do just putting the bending back into people who lost it to do experiments.’ Korra patted Ikki’s head, between her little buns, which had chains of tin daisies wound around them.

‘I wonder if you could give people with one kind of bending another kind,’ Jinora said. ‘Apart from the Avatar, the only _multi-_ benders I know about are earthbenders who also bend metal, and waterbenders who also bend blood or plants. Those are like extensions of what they could naturally do. But if you could give an earthbender firebending too, say, that would be really amazing.’

‘You could make LAVA,’ Bolin and Ikki exclaimed at the same moment, their eyes lighting up.

‘Well, I know one earthbender I shouldn’t make into a firebender,’ Korra said, laughing.

‘I would use my powers for good, not evil! I could... let’s see... I could build stone walls! Just run the lava into the place you want, and shape it, and let it harden! I’d be a boon to the construction industry.’

‘They already have that, Bo - it’s called concrete.’ She rolled her head over on his shoulder and grinned at him.

‘Oh. I guess so.’

‘Boo,’ said Ikki. ‘I would’ve helped. I would’ve blown cold air on the lava to help cool it off.’

‘I bet you could make really interesting art that way, too. Big blobby sculptures. We would be a fantastic art team, if only Korra wasn’t so mean.’

‘What are you calling her mean for? Cut it out!’ Mako exclaimed, coming back into the room with a tea-tray. 

‘Oh, it’s okay, sweetie, he was just kidding,’ Korra said.

‘Well, I don’t think it’s okay. You took enough grief from jerks today without him piling on.’ Mako set the tray down on the table, glaring at Bolin.

‘Bolin’s not a jerk,’ Jinora protested, and sat down in his lap as if to make the point that she wouldn’t sit on a jerk. He appreciated the gesture, but she did it so emphatically that she slightly winded him.

‘That’s kind of unnecessary, Mako,’ Korra said, frowning a little.

‘Well, excuse me for being protective. For not liking it when this clown, who did nothing to help today, calls you _mean.’_

‘You don’t even know what we were talking about!’ Korra said, trying to laugh it off.

‘And he did so help today!’ Ikki added. ‘He told us he went and cleaned up a street that got smashed up from the bombs!’

‘Could you at least _ask_ whether we need you before making your plans for the day?’ Mako snapped at Bolin.

‘But we didn’t need him today! Sorry, Bo, nothing personal - we had all the help we needed, and _you_ were hovering around me so close he couldn’t have got a word in edgewise.’

 _‘Yeah,’_ said Ikki, poking out her tongue.

‘Shh!’ said Jinora.

‘I - I’m sorry if you felt like I wasn’t there for you,’ Bolin said. ‘I didn’t mean for that. I thought you were okay, especially together with Korra.’

‘You should be mad at him,’ Ikki whispered loudly. She poked her head under Korra’s arm to say this, and Korra squeezed down on her to shush her.

‘I can come with you tomorrow if you want,’ Bolin offered. ‘There’s still something I’d need to do at some stage, but I could be there most of the day.’

‘And that’s another thing. Why are you so secretive lately? Something you need to do? Why not just say what it is?’

‘Well, if it was just me I’d tell you right away, but it’s somebody else’s business.’ He didn’t feel right telling them about Tahno until he’d cheered up a bit and recovered some confidence.

‘Is it Asami?’

‘No, actually, it’s _not_ Asami. But I saw her today, I can tell you that, no problem. We had tea and she’s doing great. She’s working on getting Future Industries up and running again. She also told me she’s planning to sell her house and move to a smaller place that’s easier to run and doesn’t have so many memories, probably an apartment in the city. She’s got a lot going on, and I want to be there for her, too.’

‘Oh, you’re there for her, all right,’ Mako sneered. ‘I can’t believe how fast the two of you hooked up.’

‘Mako!’ Korra exclaimed.

‘Ooh!’ squeaked Ikki.

‘Why won’t you believe me that that’s not what’s going on?’ Bolin cried.

‘Because it’s so damn obvious that something _is_ going on! You go out till all hours, you look like you’ve been necking with a leopard, you’re shifty and evasive, you use _Lin_ as an excuse to stay away from home, that’s really classy by the way, when she’s taking the time to teach you, and Asami’s clearly desperate anyway.’

‘I don’t care what you say about me, but don’t talk about her that way!’

‘Why would you care so much if you’re not -’

‘Because she’s my friend!’

‘That’s enough!’ Korra shouted. ‘Cut it out, both of you!’ She set Ikki on the floor and got to her feet. ‘Mako, this is really, really ugly of you. I don’t want to see you until you clear this up. Don’t come with me tomorrow - I’ll just go with Tenzin. Bolin, I don’t know what you’re doing but get your act together. I’m going to bed.’ She stamped out of the room.

‘Look what you did!’ Mako snapped.

‘What _I_ did? If you weren’t so nasty and suspicious and - and _jealous_ \- oh my gosh, you’re still jealous of Asami! Listen, if you dump a girl, especially like that, you don’t get to be jealous any more!’

‘Mako dumped Asami? Mako was going _out_ with Asami?’ Ikki asked.

‘Shhhh!’ Jinora said, scrambling out of Bolin’s lap and putting her hand over Ikki’s mouth. Ikki licked it and Jinora snatched it back. ‘Ew!’

‘This is so dramatic!’

‘ _Will_ you shut _up,_ you nosy little brat?’ Mako roared. Just for a second, fire flashed in his hand. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving a hot, singed smell in the air.

Everything went very still. Ikki’s face went stiff, her eyes wide and round, and she flinched back against her sister.

‘Oh,’ said Mako, his face falling. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I - are you okay? I’m sorry...’

‘Let’s go,’ Jinora said, putting her arm around Ikki and quickly leading her away.

‘Mako...’ Bolin tried to touch his brother’s shoulder, but he jerked away. 

‘Leave me alone.’ Mako hurried out of the house, his head down. The door had just shut behind him when Pema burst into the room, red-faced and angry with her baby in a sling and Ikki tucked under her arm. 

‘Where’s Mako? I will _not_ have anyone threatening my children!’

‘Please, wait. He didn’t mean it - he lost his temper for a second but he didn’t _do_ anything to them. He wouldn’t. He was sorry the next second.’ Bolin held up his hands, trying to appease her.

‘Ikki _was_ overdoing it,’ Jinora said, hovering behind her mother. ‘You know how she gets.’

‘He called me a nosy little brat,’ Ikki wailed. Her face was red too, and smeared with tears. 

‘I’m really sorry, Ikki.’ Bolin knelt down and held out his hands to her, and after hesitating a moment, holding onto her mother’s dress, she came over and let him hug her, patting her back. ‘Mako’s sorry too. He’s gone to calm down, but I know he’ll make it up to you later. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ she mumbled, wiping her nose on his shoulder. ‘But I wish Korra was in love with _you,_ because you’re _nice.’_

‘That’s okay, though. I’m really happy Korra’s my friend. Boys and girls can just be friends too, it’s okay.’

Jinora and Pema had been having a whispered consultation. ‘Ikki,’ Pema said, ‘I think it would be best if you gave the big kids a bit more space. You didn’t deserve to be yelled at, but it sounds as if you _were_ being a little too nosy.’

‘Okay,’ Ikki said glumly.

‘Come on, and we’ll wash your face, and you can help me get dinner. Okay?’ Pema ran her hand over Ikki’s head, cupping the back of it.

‘Okay.’ Ikki leaned on her mother and they left the room together.

‘Are _you_ okay?’ Jinora asked Bolin, lingering hesitantly.

‘I’m fine. Don’t worry.’ He gave her a reassuring smile. 

‘It sounds like everything is really complicated.’

‘It kind of is, but that’s just life when you grow up. And I’m not even grown all the way up yet.’

‘How big are you gonna _get?’_ she asked, eyeing him doubtfully.

The outer door banged open, and Bumi stepped through. ‘I’m back!’ he yelled to the house at large. ‘And look who I dragged home for dinner!’ Bolin looked up and saw Lin behind him, rolling her eyes. His heart bumped in his chest.

‘Uncle Bumi!’ Jinora cried, running to him. He scooped her up, swung her round and slung her onto his back, where she bounced happily. ‘Hi, Miz Lin. Hey, could I call you Aunt Lin?’

 _‘Yes,’_ said Bumi, grinning. ‘Call her Aunt Lin at _all times.’_

‘Just Lin will be fine,’ Lin said, flicking Bumi on the ear. ‘I don’t really feel like aunt material.’

‘Hi, Sifu,’ Bolin said, playing it safe. His face felt warm and he hoped it wasn’t too pink. 

‘Bolin,’ she said, nodding to him.

Dinner was a strange meal that night. Bumi, no doubt thinking he was being either very tactful or very funny, manoeuvred Bolin to sit next to Lin, then sat on his other side and kept crowding him over, so that his knee was pressed to Lin’s under the table, and that whole side of his body prickled like pins and needles. Mako appeared late, apologised to Ikki, who apologised to him, and sat silently and morosely picking at his food. About halfway through the meal, Korra came out in her pyjamas, mumbling that she was hungry after all. There was no space left for her to sit except beside Mako, and the two of them wouldn’t look at each other. This might have attracted more notice, except that Tenzin was engaged in a losing struggle to control Meelo, who had invented fart impressions and wanted to demonstrate for his uncle. 

‘Listen! Listen, this is a tablecloth ripping!’ He stood bow-legged, gritted his teeth and produced a sound that really was very like tearing linen. Bumi laughed till he cried, and Korra snorted slightly and covered her mouth.

‘Now this is a rooster crowing!’

‘Not at the _table!’_ Tenzin cried.

‘Well, when else am I supposed to show _everyone?’_

After dinner, Bumi, Bolin was not entirely sure how, organised/bullied everyone into a chaotic team game in the gymnasium. He claimed it was called Redemption and was extremely ancient, but seemed to be improvising it as he went along. Lin, as opposing team captain, appeared to understand this principle and make use of it herself. Within minutes, Korra seemed to have forgotten that she was upset or angry, throwing herself into the competition with glee; even Mako at least tried, although he was hopelessly confused by the changing rules and forfeits. Pema watched from the sidelines and clapped Rohan’s tiny hands together when any of her children, or her husband, scored a point.

Bolin just scrambled to keep up with Lin. She had chosen him first for her team, which made him feel all warm and squishy, and seemed to be relying on him a lot, both as a fellow earth and metalbender, and because he was getting good at reading her intentions, being where she needed him to go. She had taken off her armour, because it had been ruled an unfair advantage, and was playing barefoot, in her uniform pants and a sleeveless crossover shirt. With her face flushed and her hair wild and a streak of dirt on her cheek, she looked so gorgeous that he was pretty proud of himself just for maintaining a basic level of composure. He felt as if they were communicating without words; at one point she glanced at him and he just _knew_ what she had in mind; he crouched and made a stirrup of his hands, she stepped into it and he flipped her up into the air, somersaulting over Bumi’s head and landing with a satisfying _bam_ to touch home base.

‘Woo! That’s my girl!’ he yelled, before he could think about it. He was just so _proud_ of her.

‘Who are you calling a girl?’ Lin yelled back, and beaned him with home base (which was one of Tenzin’s slippers).

The game was eventually declared a draw, mostly because all players had collapsed from exhaustion. 

‘That means we all got Redemption,’ Bumi announced, lying spreadeagled on his back. ‘Yeeeeeeeah.’

‘This is the dumbest evening I’ve ever had,’ Lin said, peeling herself off the floor, where she left an outline in sweaty mist. ‘Thanks for that, Bubu.’ 

‘Any time, kid, any time.’

‘Bolin, walk with me,’ Lin said, nodding to him. ‘We need to figure out your next lesson.’ 

‘Right,’ he said, wriggling out from under Meelo and Ikki, who were giggling and trying to tickle him. He helped her back into her armour, and when they reached the door, her coat. Going outside into the cold felt weird, given how hot and sweaty he still was inside his clothes. ‘See you down to the pier?’

‘I think so. Tomorrow afternoon any good for you? I could fit you in about five. You could stay for dinner afterwards.’

‘That’d be really nice, thank you.’ They were getting further from the buildings now, picking their way down the path. He glanced back, wondering whether they were far enough now for him to say what he wanted without being overheard, and while he was looking away, she tackled him and drove him off the path into the shadows of the skeleton trees. His back hit a trunk, and so did his head, with a clunk that he hardly felt as she kissed him.

‘Oh Lin -’

‘Shut up. Why are you so _hot?’_ Her hand was between his legs, groping and squeezing through his pants, and he felt as if he might come then and there, especially with her kissing him like this, her tongue thrusting and swirling in his mouth.

‘No, you.’ It was harder to get his hand between her legs; there was a kind of apron of armour that he had to shove up between them, but he did it, with a grunt and a clank, and rubbed hard, feeling the wet soak through, though a lot of it could have been sweat. ‘Lin...’

‘It was everything I could do not to just throw you down and fuck you.’

‘You played pretty well considering.’

‘ _Down.’_ She pushed him to the ground, on his back, jerked down his zip and kicked one leg out of her pants to mount him. Once he was inside her she sat still for a long moment, and he could feel her trembling with tension. ‘Okay.’ She began to rock herself slowly, grinding down and around, and her hands slid up over his belly. ‘Oh... oh baby boy, you feel so good in there.’

He took hold of her thighs, running his hands up and down and feeling the strong muscle tighten as she pushed herself up. There was a broken twig digging right into his ass, and a pointy rock under his shoulder, but he could overlook that for a while. ‘Like this?’ He flexed his hips upward, seeking the right angle, and braced his heels in the cold, damp dirt.

‘Just like that.’ She was a silhouette in the shadow-broken moonlight, silver at the edges, and he could hear the greedy joy in her voice. ‘Ah...’ 

He slid his hand over, fumbled through her rough hair to find her clitoris and pressed it, stroking with his thumb while his fingers pushed into her lower belly. That got him a sharp grunt and faster motion, her lush wet flesh tightening around his cock. That was bliss, but the pointy rock shifted and started trying to wreck his spine, and it seemed a tiny bit unfair that the person wearing armour was on top.

‘C-can I roll you over?’

‘Mmm...’ 

He slipped out in the process, but quickly got back in, Lin wrapping her legs around him tight, her heels digging into his buttocks. Her hands combed into his hair and she kissed him deeply as he rolled into her, his heart drumming. There was a stick under his knee now, so nothing was going to be perfect except her, and her eyes shining in the dark and her mouth panting against his, her strong, eager body wrapped around him, the way she arched and bucked against him, the fierce, sweet little sound she made when she trembled and came. This was one of the times when it felt more like she’d got herself off, with his help, than as if he could take credit, but he was getting there himself, swirling down into deep dark joy. The earth around them shivered as he did, and he gasped, almost laughing, resting his forehead on hers as she kissed him.

‘My sweet baby,’ she breathed, and the perfect feeling went on until it was abruptly broken. 

‘Bolin?’ Mako’s voice came out of the darkness, shaking. Bolin lifted his head, shocked, and saw him standing on the slope just down from the path. He felt Lin’s thighs tighten sharply on his hips, heard her hissing intake of breath, and was acutely conscious of his bare butt white under the moonlight.

‘Can you give us one minute?’ he squeaked, his voice cracking.

‘Uh... right... I’ll be over... here.’ Mako pointed vaguely over his shoulder with his thumb and backed up, out of sight.

‘Shit!’ said Lin. ‘Shit shit shit shit!’ She shoved Bolin off her and scrambled frantically back into her pants. Bolin could imagine how she felt; he’d never lost an afterglow so fast.

‘I’ll take care of this,’ he promised her, trying to get zipped up without hurting himself. ‘I will! It’ll be okay!’

‘You’d better,’ she said, sounding furious. She got to her feet and rushed off down the hillside, pattering lightly between the trees. Bolin blundered back up the slope to the path, his legs still feeling weak and trembly. He found Mako sitting on a step. He sprang up when Bolin drew near.

‘What the hell was that?’ he asked in a loud whisper, sweeping his arm towards the trees.

‘I... I know how it looks... well okay, it’s how it looks, it’s, uh...’

‘Was that _Lin Beifong?’_ Mako’s voice squeaked too, and he brought it down again as if afraid they’d be heard. ‘I came looking for you, hoping we could patch things up, and I found you -’ His eyes bulged and he gestured wildly.

‘Okay, please, calm down, let’s talk about this, let me explain.’ Bolin patted the air, trying to settle Mako down. ‘Okay? Big bro, little bro, calm talk? Let’s sit down.’

‘This is insane,’ Mako said, sitting down beside him and raking his fingers through his hair. ‘What are you thinking? She’s older than our mother! It’s gross!’

‘It’s a big age difference, but it’s not _gross.’_

‘Are you serious? Some dried-up leathery old -’

‘Can you _not?_ This is someone I care about.’

‘Bolin...’ Mako dropped his hands to his knees. ‘Did she _make_ you?’

‘No. Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything I didn’t completely want to do. She’s wonderful, Mako. I’m - I’m in love with her.’ Saying it for sure, for the first time, to Mako, felt right. Mako just looked at him as if he were deeply, deeply worried about him. ‘I love her so much!’ He felt a grin break out on his face, in spite of his anxiety.

‘Are - are you trying to replace Mom? Bo, you don’t have to do something like this just to feel _loved._ I love you with my whole heart, and if I haven’t been showing it enough -’

‘It’s not - you don’t understand, I’m in love with her like you’re in love with Korra. It all started when she was teaching me metalbending. She liked me and that was her way to get to know me.’

‘And I sent you to her,’ Mako said, looking stricken. ‘I should’ve gone with you, kept an eye on things.’

‘You’re not hearing me,’ Bolin said. ‘She’s not _molesting_ me!’ He’d expected a negative reaction, but not this, as if he were a little kid. ‘I know this is a little weird and messed up, but not like that. I promise I’m okay.’

‘It’s just... I’d _understand_ if it were Asami. She’d make more sense.’

‘Like love always makes sense?’ Bolin asked ruefully.

‘Okay, okay.’ Mako ran his hands through his hair again, flattening it to his head. ‘I just feel awful. I used to have one job. Protect you. I took my eye off you to try to look after Korra, and this happens.’

‘You’re saying that like something bad happened to me,’ Bolin said, laughing. 

‘And it feels incredibly weird that my baby brother is having _sex._ I mean, I haven’t -’ Mako stopped in a hurry, and if there had been more light to see by Bolin thought he would have been blushing.

‘So you and Korra aren’t...’

‘Are you kidding? As if I’d take a chance on getting her pregnant, now of all times?’ Mako’s head snapped up. ‘Bo, you’re being careful, right? You know what to do? Those little... contraceptive thingies?’

‘That’s all taken care of.’ He didn’t feel like going into the details of Lin’s reproductive system, little as he knew about it. ‘It’s all okay, you’re not gonna be an uncle, not via Lin, anyway.’

‘You don’t have _other_ girls, do you?’ Mako asked, sounding panicky.

‘No! No, I only mean, maybe _one_ day when I’m older and ready to get married and stuff, but that’s not going to be soon and it’s not going to be Lin.’

‘Oh... good... wait, is that good?’

‘Well, it can’t last forever. It’s complicated.’ Bolin scratched his eyebrow. He was very conscious of how sticky and messy he felt between the legs; if it was weird for Mako that he was having sex, it was weirder still for him to sit here and talk to him while he could still _feel_ the sex on his body. ‘Just... here and now, I love her, and it’s good. I want it to last for as long as possible before we have to call it a day. Lin says that’ll have to happen eventually, and I accept she’s right.’

‘Well, thank goodness for that,’ Mako said. ‘I was afraid she’d be filling your head with... ah, I don’t know.’ He shook his own head. 

‘Listen, Mako, it’s really important that you don’t tell anyone. Lin doesn’t want anyone to know.’

‘So at least she has the sense to be ashamed of what she’s doing.’

‘No, she’s not, but she knows people wouldn’t understand. So please, let us keep it private. If not for Lin’s sake, for mine. Please?’

Mako gave him a long, troubled look. ‘I reserve the right to tell Korra,’ he said at last, ‘because I don’t want to lie to her about anything, but otherwise, okay.’

‘Thank you. _Thank_ you.’ Bolin threw his arms around his brother and hugged him tight. ‘And thank you for wanting to make things right. I do love you. I really, really haven’t wanted to be all weird and secretive. I don’t have to be any more, I can just tell you when I’m going to be with Lin, right?’

‘I can’t believe I got that so wrong,’ Mako said. ‘I thought you were using _her_ as a cover for _Asami..._ and it’s the other way round?’

‘Only a little bit. I spend time with Asami too, like I stayed the night at her place once.’ He sat back, sagging with relief.

‘Don’t you think it would be a lot easier for all of us if you just didn’t see her any more? We don’t really have anything in common now.’

‘She’s my friend now,’ Bolin said, telling himself firmly that he was not going to get mad at Mako again so soon. ‘And she’s a great person. You know that.’ He got up and offered Mako his hand. ‘Come on. Let’s go take a bath, and go to bed, and sleep off all this drama. And in the morning we’ll show Korra we’re friends again, and she’ll feel better, and everything’ll be fine.’

‘If you say so,’ Mako said doubtfully.

 

Bolin was just settling into bed when he heard a light tap at his window. He wasn’t sure what it was, but after a moment it came again, sounding deliberate. He carefully slid the window back and Lin crept through the opening, reminding him of a spider in the darkness. 

‘What are you doing here?’ he asked in a whisper. ‘I thought you went home.’

‘I meant to,’ she whispered back, sitting down on the bed, ‘but I couldn’t. What happened? What did he say? I feel like I’m going to throw up,’ she admitted in a smaller voice still.

‘It’s all okay.’ He put his arms around her, stiff and cold as she felt in her armour, and smoothed down her hair. ‘I talked him round. He doesn’t really like it, but he’s going to stay quiet. We’re safe.’

‘Oh.’ She went limp for a moment, her head dropping onto his shoulder, and then she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed hard. ‘Thank goodness. Thank goodness. How could I be so stupid? We were right by the path. Anyone who came down could have seen us, or heard us, or felt it through the ground... why do you have to _do_ that?’

‘I don’t do it on _purpose._ If I was picking special abilities, making a baby earthquake when I come would not be one of them.’

‘Well, you’re not to blame, you’re a horny teenager; I’m _supposed_ to know better.’

‘So no more doing it on the bare ground? That’s okay, it’s not very comfortable anyway.’

‘You don’t really _worry_ about this, do you?’

‘Only ‘cause it worries you. Like I said, I’d be proud to tell anyone you were my girl.’

‘There’s _girl_ again,’ she grumbled. ‘What was that about, during the game?’

‘What do you expect when you go around being so awesome? Hey, will you stay and sleep here tonight?’

‘Oh, I can just see myself trying to sneak out before dawn, and getting caught by Pema, or one of her crazy monkey children,’ Lin said, shaking her head.

‘Will you just lie down with me for a little while, then?’

‘All right,’ she sighed. They stretched out on the bed, and for once she let him spoon her. 

‘I do sometimes wish I could be your girl,’ she said after a bit. ‘That I could just be a nice girl about your age...’

‘Not _too_ nice, or you wouldn’t be you.’ He kissed the back of her neck; it tasted salty from sweat.

‘Well, that goes without saying.’ She paused a little, then said ‘But I _wouldn’t_ be me. And I doubt I would have snagged you the way I did. When I was your age I couldn’t have done that. Well, when I was your age, I was in love with Tenzin...’ Her voice trailed off. ‘Things don’t line up right, do they, kid?’

‘No. But it’s okay.’


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N.B. Period sex. You are warned.

Mako must have told Korra, because when she saw Bolin at breakfast she went pink and started talking very loudly to Tenzin about an airbending technique she was trying to learn. When he managed to get her alone, by the long sink where everyone cleaned their teeth, she started scrubbing her teeth so vigorously that the toothpaste foam ran down her chin, while making a strange humming-grunting noise that he interpreted as ‘Can’t talk! Brushing!’

‘Um, so,’ he said, putting toothpaste on his own brush, ‘I guess you heard.’ He started brushing, to give her the assurance that he wasn’t going to talk for a bit, so she could think what she wanted to say. Clearly, Korra was too embarrassed to face that; her cheeks began to bulge and her eyes to look a little glassy. Bolin bent to spit and glanced up at her. She was staring resolutely into the middle distance, and he wasn’t sure what to say next either, so he took another run at his molars, to really get in at the back. The sound of bristle on enamel seemed to grow awfully loud.

Eventuallly he spat again, rinsed his brush, and scooped up some water to rinse his mouth. He darted his eyes cautiously at Korra, caught her doing the same towards him, and resorted to tipping his head back to gargle. He gargled all the way up the scale and back down, then spat again, by which time Korra was attempting the world’s most thorough mouth-rinsing, sloshing the water from one cheek to the other with a sound like violently agitating laundry. He waited. She rinsed. He waited. She gargled. He waited some more, and she finally rolled her eyes and spat.

‘Um, are we okay?’ he asked. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but... you know...’

‘No, it’s fine!’ she said hurriedly. ‘Gosh, it’s really none of my business!’ She bent and splashed some water on her face, then gave him a bright, drippy smile. ‘I’m just glad you and Mako made up.’

‘Okay,’ he said hesitantly. 

‘It’s just,’ she said, ‘it kind of came as a surprise, I mean, you know, comparing her with me? I guess you don’t have a type.’ 

‘I don’t know. I guess I like the alpha ladies,’ Bolin said. ‘That’s a type, right?’

‘Yeah, but...’ Korra looked around and dropped her voice. ‘She’s so much _older.’_

‘Well... so?’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘I think she’s great.’

‘So, um, are you coming with us today?’

‘Sure. Just point me the right way.’

 

He was on Lin’s doorstep bang on the stroke of five, bright-eyed and bouncing on his toes. Kika let him in and he bounded through to the gym, where Lin was throwing clods of earth at the walls, looking bad-tempered.

‘Hey!’ He ducked, deflected a chunk of hard clay with a quick kick, ran in under her guard and hugged her round the waist. ‘Hey-hey-hey, Siiiiii-fuuuu!’ He smacked a kiss on her cheek. 

‘Did you have oysters for lunch?’

‘Barbecue duck. It was awesome. You’re awesome! Do you want to teach me about wirebending or skip straight to the fooling around?’

‘Settle down, okay?’ Lin prised his hands away from her hips and dusted herself down. ‘You’re probably only going to want the lesson. I wasn’t expecting it for another couple of days, but I’m on the rag.’

‘Oh?’

‘Which makes sense of why I was so dumb last night. I’m always horny and emotional the day before, and sometimes it sneaks up on me before I realise that’s all it is.’ She shook her head and smiled at him ruefully. ‘Still want to stick around?’

‘So... we can’t? I mean, would it hurt too much?’

‘Hurt?’

‘I don’t know that much about it, but periods hurt, right?’ He could feel his ears going hot.

‘Not like that. In fact, I find a good hard fuck clears the cramps like nothing else, but I don’t expect you to put up with the mess.’

‘But it’s just... blood, right? I don’t care about blood, I mean, as long as you’re not hurt. And if it would make you feel _better,_ I _should_ do it, right?’ he asked earnestly.

‘Are you serious, or just trying to be nice?’ Lin put her head on one side and narrowed her eyes.

‘Well, both. Um, are you crampy now?’

She pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. ‘Are you offering me your dick as a painkiller?’

‘Well, a friendly gesture...’ he said, blushing.

‘You are a _kind_ boy.’ She stroked back his hair over his ear. ‘I’m good for now, though. Let’s warm up.’

‘For, ah...’

‘For wire-work,’ she said, smiling and giving his forehead a push. ‘I borrowed you a practice rig.’ She nodded towards one of the benches by the wall, where a metal contraption with leather straps was slumped.

‘Well, _that_ looks comfy. I can’t wear armour like yours?’ He knocked on her breastplate with his forefinger.

‘These suits are custom fitted. We make our own; it’s a rite of passage. So, as much as I like you, it really wouldn’t be appropriate.’

‘Sorry for tapping on your boob, then. I guess that was disrespectful.’

‘To my boob or my armour?’ She put her hands on her hips.

‘You _know_ how much I respect your boobs.’

‘Boob is a dumb word.’ Her eyes were smiling, though she shook her head. ‘I’m going to make you stretch till you cry like a little girl.’

‘Did _you_ cry when you were a little girl?’

‘I mostly yelled and cussed. Shirt and shoes off, kiddo.’ She clattered out of her armour, slinging it over to the bench where the wire rig lay.

It was the usual punishment from Lin, working over each group of muscles until he was red-faced and sweaty, and if not crying, well, his eyes were watering a bit. He kept steadily trying, though, if only because of that remark of Bumi’s about the little yoga instructor dude. 

‘Um, Lin?’

‘No stalling.’

‘I’m not. Look, I can reach past my toe now. Right? I was just wondering.’ He eased himself up onto his elbows a little, which was cheating, if not stalling. ‘Did you have a talk with Bumi the other night? About, um, stuff that he knew and didn’t tell you he knew?’

‘Oh, _that.’_ Lin sat up and flicked back her hair. 

‘Yeah. I just wanted to ask if you were really okay about it all. And to say I’m sorry if... I don’t know, if you would rather I’d talked to you about it? I thought it should be him, though.’

‘It’s okay. You got that right.’ She put her elbow on his back and pushed him back down. ‘I’m not happy with him, but it doesn’t do any good to stay mad. At least he finally admitted it.’

‘Well, he said he was concerned about you...’

‘That’s stupid, though. He’s _concerned_ about me doing exactly what he does. He’s never settled down and I’ll be surprised if he ever does. Okay, on your back. I’ll help you stretch those hamstrings.’

‘Right.’ He exhaled slowly as she pressed his leg back, his knee towards his shoulder. ‘Am I right in thinking this is - ow - slightly less about me needing to stretch and slightly more about you liking me in this position?’

‘If you can talk that much, I’m not doing it hard enough.’

‘Mmph!’

‘I like that sound... that little grunt and sigh. Okay, other side.’

‘Lin...’

‘Mm?’ Her hand strayed down his thigh to squeeze his butt, and the corner of her mouth quirked.

‘This might be a dumb question.’

‘Go ahead...’

‘Um. How do I compare to other guys?’

‘In what way?’

‘You know in what way. As, um. As a lover.’

‘That word always sounds so creepy to me. Anyway, every time a guy’s asked me a question like that, he really just wants some compliments about his dick. So I get less and less inclined to give a really well thought out answer.’ Her hand moved to rub into the cleft of his ass, in a way that made him simultaneously very embarrassed and very happy. ‘But I’ll give you credit for sincerity. You’re usually sincere. You’re good and you keep getting better - in fact, the sincerity is part of why you’re good.’

‘My dick is sincere too.’

‘Yeah, I can see it’s getting sincerely hard, there. Now why _should_ that be, when I’m just touching your butt?’

‘You’re mean.’

‘Yep. I love seeing it thicken up and tent out your pants, and I love seeing you get all red and squirmy, and I especially love it when you get so turned on you make a wet spot.’ She leaned in and kissed him, slowly and deliberately, nipping his lower lip at the end. ‘Look at that, some sincere compliments about your dick.’ Her hands moved to knead at his inner thighs. ‘All right, some good advice for you - don’t obsess about your size. I know, big looks good, but what most boys don’t realise is that women are different on the inside. We don’t just stretch to take whatever. The next girl might be little and tight, or she might be deep and roomy, and you won’t know which till you get in there. You want a good fit, like you and I have, and I’m not huge and neither are you.’

‘Oh,’ he said, his face falling.

‘You’re not small either, so don’t look so sad. I would call you medium length, but thicker than average. Nice and fat and curvy - that’s what really feels good to me.’

‘Okay...’ Her hand was right in the fold of his groin, beside his cock, only just not touching it.

‘Damn it. I just remembered I was really going to try and teach you something. Why’d you have to distract me?’

‘You’re the one who started feeling me up.’ He smiled up at her hopefully, willing her to move her hand over and give it a good hard rub.

‘I have an excuse. Hormonal insanity.’ To his deep disappointment, she pulled away and sat back on her heels. ‘Okay, baby, you’re all limbered up. Get up now.’

‘I’m not limber. I’m stiff.’ He pushed himself up on his elbows and pouted at her. ‘How can anyone learn a new bending technique with a boner like this?’

‘Poor baby,’ she said cheerfully. ‘You’ll be amazed what you can do if you try.’ She got up and offered him her hand. 

‘Now, see, I could just pull you back down on me,’ he pointed out, ‘but I’m gentleman enough not to.’ He hauled himself to his feet. ‘But do you really _really_ think I can learn anything like this?’ He pulled her in, hooked his arm round her waist and kissed her, pressing his erection into her stomach, warm and firm through her worn pants.

‘You little horndog,’ she said with a muffled laugh.

‘Mmhm.’ He rubbed it against her and nuzzled into her neck, sliding his hand down to her butt, spreading out his fingers and giving it a squeeze. ‘Come on... mmm?’ He tried doing the little grunt-and-sigh on purpose.

‘Listen, I have to warn you, this approach you’re using doesn’t work on classy girls.’ He could hear the smile in her voice, even while she tried to sound severe.

‘That’s okay, I only need it to work on you.’ He yelped as she pinched him, and quickly kissed her. ‘Mmm... mmmm?’

‘You should be ashamed,’ she said, sliding her hands inside his waistband, gently drawing her nails up over his hips to the ticklish point at his waist. 

‘Dying of shame,’ he agreed happily. ‘I just want you so much...’

‘Okay, a quick one and then we really will do wirework.’ She backed him over to the bench and pushed him down, straddling his lap, tipping back his head to kiss him hard and deep. ‘Hold on. Damn it.’ She got off, still kissing him in snatches, and struggled out of her pants. He had a sudden moment of panic about the etiquette of the thing - does a gentleman help a lady with her tampon, like helping her out of her coat? - before she took the matter out of his hands, with a quick almost casual tug. Something small hit the floor with a little plunk and she was straddling him again, yanking down his zip and pushing him in with a glad shudder. 

‘Oh!’ His hips stuttered, and he had to take a deep, hard breath to get back in control. It didn’t feel any different from ordinary sex, except maybe a little slicker and warmer. He pushed up her top, uncovering her breasts, and pressed his lips to them, tasting her sharp dusty sweat as she rocked herself up and down. ‘Oh Lin... Limmm...’ He drew her nipple into his mouth, sucking eagerly, clutching her hips. 

‘Slow... slow down...’ Her fingers twined into his hair and she hissed softly between her teeth.

‘Mmghhh...’ He scooted his butt down, splaying his legs and bracing his feet, pushing up into her soft heat, feeling the sliding kiss all over his cock. He curled his toes into the warm dry dirt of the floor, dug his fingers into her hips, his thumbs into her groin, getting lost in the sweet brainless pleasure of it. _I’ve got this beautiful - passionate -_ horny _woman riding on me and her breasts are sliding and rubbing over my face and she’s pulling on my hair and she’s making this_ noise, _like I feel so good she can’t handle it, and her, her can’t-say-cunt-even-in-my-head it’s_ smacking, _it’s_ squishing, _I love her I love her I love her._ He couldn’t even sustain sucking her breasts properly, just panted with his mouth open and licked as they rose and fell.

‘Oh! Oh! Here, your hand, push here!’ Her face was flushed and shining, her eyes scrunched closed. He planted his hand on her lower belly, pressed in, felt her muscles tensing and clamping down. It went on, and on, sweet and fierce and surging. ‘Tha- ah - ah! Fuck...’ 

‘Yes... oh Lin...’ He was overflowing now, blissful and shivery.

‘Aah!’ She cried out and pushed against him hard, harder, shaking, until she went limp, her shoulders heaving. They clung together, panting, chests aching and heads pounding. Eventually, Lin lifted her head and kissed his forehead. ‘Think you can concentrate on a lesson now?’

‘Noooo...’ he whimpered.

‘Maybe after a little wash, a drink of water? Hmm? My big strong boy?’

‘You can seriously...’

‘I just have more stamina. You should too, baby. At your age.’ She finger-combed back his hair and looked into his sweaty, dazed face.

‘I’ve got stamina... just... it’s kind of specific. Give me ten minutes and I could definitely have sex again.’

‘Okay. We’ll clean ourselves up a little, and we’ll start over.’

‘Oh, good...’

‘With the lesson. Come on.’

He was a little sulky about it, but after splashing his face with cold water he felt slightly readier to face the lesson. The mess on his cock wasn’t anything like he’d thought, just some dark red streaks and smears. He washed himself at the bathroom sink, standing on tiptoe to rinse.

‘My periods are never that heavy,’ Lin said. ‘There’s never a whole lot of liquid blood, anyway. See how educational I am?’ She was sitting on the closed lid of the toilet while he washed, having tidied herself up first.

‘Is this another thing that’s different on different girls?’

‘Bingo. Now, some girls will _never_ want to fuck during their periods, so don’t expect it. Some have heavy, painful periods and take to their beds, some hardly slow down. There is _no_ way to know what you’re getting in advance. Just... be sympathetic and recognise that you’re never going to have any idea what it’s like. Don’t say crap like “you’re just crabby because you’re getting your period”. Maybe she is, but you saying it is just going to piss her off.’

‘Oh, noted. So I guess I don’t offer the dick-as-a-painkiller option unless she asks?’

‘Just... wait till you get really comfortable together, I guess.’

‘Peeing in front of each other comfortable?’

‘Thereabouts. You’re stalling now,’ she added, getting up and stretching her arms over her head.

‘Well, this could be important. You know, relationships. This mythical next girlfriend we imagine.’

‘You know what next girlfriends _love?_ A competent wirebender.’

She bullied him back into the gym and into the practice rig, which had an unfeasible number of straps and buckles; straps under his arms and across his chest and around his waist and between his legs. While he was untangling and buckling them all, she shrugged back into her armour, as if to highlight how clumsy he was and how graceful and quick she could be. One of the between-the-legs straps got lost behind him and he had to turn in circles chasing his tail to catch it, while she smirked.

‘I’ll remember this,’ he warned her, wagging his finger.

‘Okay, okay.’ She grabbed the strap and pulled it through for him. ‘There you go. How’s that feel?’

‘Tight. And heavy. And jangly.’ He tried to shake it down into a more comfortable position, but it stayed the same.

‘Okay, now we can fit the sleeves.’ These buckled on too, and fed the wires down his arms to his wrists.

‘I never knew you were such a buckle fan.’ He stretched out his arms and flapped his wrists up and down.

‘Right. You need to clear your head and focus on the spools of wire on your back.’

‘Okay...’ He closed his eyes, breathed in through his nose, out through his mouth. At first the spools just felt like a weight between his shoulderblades, but he realised after a moment that he could reach them backwards, his awareness of them running up from the wires at his wrists. There they were, coiled and ready, fine but strong. He tried to move them, and wire ran out floppily over the backs of his hands.

‘Good start!’ said Lin, sounding very slightly surprised.

She kept him at it for over two hours, at the end of which he was tired out but could reliably hook the wires over a ceiling beam and pull himself up; after his first try, he got the hang of stopping pulling shortly before he reached the top, so he didn’t carry on shooting up and smack his head on the ceiling. It was like standing up under an open cabinet door. He’d seen stars and lost his concentration on the wires, and would have been hurt a lot worse from the fall if Lin hadn’t snagged him with a wire around his waist.

‘Can we please take a break and have dinner?’ he asked plaintively. ‘I’m really hungry, and need I remind you I have a boo-boo on my head.’

‘Yeah, I think you’ve earned a dinner break - as long as you don’t mind it just being instant noodles.’ She parted his hair to look at the bump. ‘This isn’t too bad. You have the classic earthbender skull-like-a-rock.’

‘Yeah, but still... owwww. And instant noodles are fine with me. Can you help me out of this rig?’

It felt cosy to him, going down to the kitchen together. She put water on to boil while he found the noodle cups in the pantry - one would be enough for Lin, but for himself he dumped the contents of two into a bigger bowl and put a plate over the top for a lid. When the water was poured in and the lids were on, they sat down to wait out the two minutes.

‘So,’ he said, folding his hands politely. ‘How was your day?’

‘ _Now_ you’re asking? Do you want some tea, while the water’s hot?’

‘Ooh, yeah. Well, why not ask now?’

‘I suppose,’ she said, giving a one-shouldered shrug as she poured water into the teapot. ‘Well, I had a pretty boring day, with a considerable amount of paperwork. I bet you had more fun.’

‘Spent most of it with Mako and Korra,’ he said, shrugging back. ‘We weren’t really having fun per se. She’s getting really worn out. Oh, around midday I went over to Asami’s and woke up Tahno. I don’t think he’d get up otherwise.’ He explained briefly who the hell Tahno was and what he was doing at Asami’s.

‘So he’s just lying there feeling sorry for himself?’ Lin asked, taking the lid off her noodles and stirring them.

‘It’s like he’s just too bummed to move. So I got him up, and I took him outside and told him we were going to make snowmen. And he got all ticked off, which at least got him out of his funk, and said he wasn’t going to make a dumb snowman, and I said come on, with your Water Tribe ancestry you should love the snow, and he said just because he had one Water Tribe grandfather he didn’t have to put up with me stereotyping him, and he threw a snowball at me, and we had a pretty awesome snowball fight at the end of which he came around on the whole snowman thing. So we made a snow Bolin and a snow Tahno, and he got so into it he made two busty snow ladies to keep snow Tahno company. Then I had to go, but I think if I get him to do one thing a day it’ll make a difference. Don’t you think?’

‘Well, I think he’s lucky you care about him. He’s not the most charming person, but he could use a friend.’

‘I don’t know if we’re exactly friends yet, but hopefully we will be. Oh! I didn’t tell you yet, I might be getting a job!’ He outlined Asami’s suggestion about the apprenticeship. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think it could be a good start for you. I know Dev Naidu; I trained him. He was an okay cop for a while, but he couldn’t cope with the stress in the long run. I advised him to get out before he wrecked his health or made a serious mistake. Good to hear he’s doing something useful with what he learned.’

‘So... you think that would be an okay thing for me to do with what you’re teaching me? It wouldn’t be a waste, or anything?’

‘Of course not. It would be a waste if you never used it, or if you used it to be an asshole. If you turn into a criminal or a creep, I’ll be deeply disappointed in you. If you do something worthwhile and live a happy life, I’ll be proud. Easy.’ She sucked up some noodles. ‘This conversation feels entirely too parental, too. Do whatever you want with your bending. Be a jeweller, be an artist, work construction, keep pro bending, join the circus, join the navy.’

‘But if I don’t know what I really truly _want_ to do...’

‘It’s okay to work a day job while you figure it out. And if Asami Sato is nice enough to set you up with one, I think you should take it, at least to see what you can learn.’

‘Uh-huh...’ He stirred the noodles around, watching the little flavour-flakes rising and falling in the broth. ‘Well, it all depends how her presentation to the city council goes tomorrow. I’m going to go along for moral support. I mean, Tenzin should say yes, right? He’s a good guy. And he can help convince the others. I bet it’s going to be a great presentation, with... I don’t know, pie charts and things. And Asami’s sure to make a good impression, since she’s awesome.’

‘You still have a little crush on her, don’t you?’

‘A little one. I think I’ve got it under control.’

‘You can ask her out if you want to. It really won’t bother me.’

‘Nope! I just want to be with you.’ He beamed at her with a cheek full of noodles. ‘Two at once would be too greedy. Besides, I think it’d be kind of pushy, when she’s got so much going on. I just want to be a good friend.’

‘You really mean that. Sometimes I forget what a pure soul you are.’ Lin smirked at him.

‘What are you, testing me?’

‘Only all the time.’ She finished eating and put her chopsticks down. ‘But I bet you’re not too pure to take a nice hot bath with me. Baby, don’t eat so fast, you’ll choke.’

 

The bathroom off the gymnasium had a large oblong bath that a small family could have happily soaked in, but the one in the little bathroom by Lin’s bedroom was an odd triangular thing wedged into the corner.

‘Oh, _pooh,’_ said Lin, settling down in the steaming water. ‘I practically have to sit in your lap.’ She leaned back contentedly against Bolin’s chest and closed her eyes.

‘It’s rough on me too.’ He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and tipped his head back against the wall. ‘Aahhh... the end of the day should always be like this.’

‘You’re good at relaxing. I like that about you.’

‘Mmmm.’ He closed his eyes for a few minutes, letting the heat of the water soak through his muscles and into his bones, his mind comfortably adrift, wandering from one thing to another. ‘Lin?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You know how Bumi has all those dragon tattoos?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well, he said he got the first one when he was fourteen and his mom went ballistic, right?’

‘Right...’

‘Why did she care? I mean, his dad was covered in tattoos, right? Those big blue arrows. They’re in all the pictures of him.’

‘Well, it’s not so much that he got a tattoo as that he snuck out at night and got a tattoo in a sailors’ dive and she thought he was going to get blood poisoning. And I caught hell for going with him and not stopping him. We wanted to get tattoos together.’

‘You didn’t get a tattoo, though. I’d’ve seen it.’

‘I did... look here.’ She pointed to a little dark dot on her upper arm that he’d thought was a mole. ‘This dot represents the one time in my life I completely wimped out of something. It was supposed to be a Beifong boar.’

‘Seriously? It hurt that much?’ He touched the dot curiously; it felt like ordinary skin.

‘Honestly, no... but needles have always made me squeamish. I can’t handle acupuncture either. Bumi said just don’t look, but I couldn’t _not_ look with this needle buzzing and drumming away at my skin, and I felt like I was going to throw up after about two seconds. He didn’t give me nearly as much shit about it as he could have.’

‘That’s such a cute story. I didn’t think you had weak spots like that!’

‘Oh, get lost.’ Lin pinched his arm. ‘And never tell _anyone.’_

‘Course not. Want me to tell you something embarrassing about me? I can’t look in a mirror at night. Not in the dark. I read this story, when I was a kid, about how mirrors used to be doors to another world, and the creatures from the other world used to be able to come and go, and we lived in harmony, but-’

‘Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked?’ Lin suggested, borrowing the words of the old tale.

‘Ha, yeah, well, the mirror people got jealous of our world and one night they all stormed through and tried to take it over, but the Avatar organised everyone and drove them back and sealed them behind the glass, and now all they can do is copy us. And I got really creeped out by the thought that there was a mirror Bolin who was watching me and copying me and _he hated me_ because I got to live out in the real world and he didn’t. And what if there was a crack in the mirror? And he could get through? It didn’t seem like it could happen in the daylight, but at night I was sure it could, and even if I don’t believe it any more I still feel spooked if I see a mirror in a dark room, and I don’t want to see my reflection in it because a little bit of me still thinks it won’t be me, it’ll be _him.’_

‘Well, _that’s_ creepy.’

‘I know! If he tries to get me, will you help me fight him off?’

‘I don’t know. I might like having two of you. Is he really evil, or just cranky from being cooped up?’

‘I don’t know. I guess he can’t be too mad if he has a mirror Lin.’ He kissed her cheek and leaned back again. ‘I guess the question is, is their world just like ours all over, or does it only look the same in the parts close to mirrors?’

‘I guess it has to be pretty similar all over... I mean, you see it reflected in the sea and lakes and things...’

‘They’re not _mirrors,_ though. Or the creatures could’ve been using those as doors too, and we couldn’t have sealed them off. That’d be too much waterbending for even the Avatar.’

‘Huh. Good point. It figures that you would have given this such deep thought.’

‘I had to decide whether I was going to be afraid of puddles, too.’ He shrugged slightly and gave hier waist a little squeeze. ‘Hey, how are you feeling? Any cramps?’

‘You’re fishing for dick compliments again. I feel good, thank you. No cramps here.’

‘Just tell me if you need another treatment.’

‘So you were okay with that? Not grossed out?’

‘I didn’t notice that much difference. It just felt great like always.’

‘Well, I think I want to leave the tampon where it is for a while, but nothing else is off limits.’

‘Yay.’ He kissed the side of her neck, gliding his hands up her sides and over her arms to rub her shoulders. ‘That good?’

‘Mm... can you get the back of my neck? Yes, there. Up to the back of my head and back down.’ She sighed, and he felt her muscles softening, and heard a similar softening in her voice. ‘Good hands... that’s so nice.’

‘You’re so beautiful...’ He kissed the nape of her neck, softly, sucking just a little, as he worked on her shoulders. Her breathing was growing deeper, and he could feel little subtle prickles of anticipation. He slid his hands down to cover her breasts, half under the water line, feeling her nipples stiffening against his palms. ‘My Lin...’ He held them between finger and thumb-tip, twiddling in little circles, watching the corner of her mouth curl.

‘Fun to play with?’

‘Well, yeah...’

‘So are yours. I’m going to mess with them later. Make you wriggle.’ _She_ wriggled, contentedly, moving her bottom teasingly against him. 

‘I bet you will.’ He kept one hand on her chest, wandering and stroking from side to side, as he dipped the other into her lap, cautiously exploring with his fingertips. He felt the string, just briefly, but otherwise everything felt normal, soft and enticing, with hair swirling like waterweed around it. ‘Does it make stuff feel any different for you?’

‘You mean, apart from how I’m even hornier than usual?’ She tipped back her head and kissed his cheek. ‘Everything’s a little more intense. I come faster and harder. I want it a little bit rougher, especially the day before and the first day. Here, baby, just rub my clit, I’m more than ready.’

‘Like this?’

‘Little faster... ah...’ She flexed her hips upward, lifting one arm to twine back around his neck, and kissed him deeper, flicking her tongue against his lips. ‘Ohh...’ 

‘You really are... here...’ He held her tight, feeling her tense and quiver and briefly relax before she arched up again. Her breathing was fast and ragged, and her eyes were shining, in the brief glimpses he could see between kisses. She drew his head down, sucking his tongue, groaning. This was the amazing, strange, wonderful thing, the thing he couldn’t take for granted, the response he could bring out in strong, stern Lin, that he could give _her_ this feeling that overwhelmed him. He wanted more arms, more hands, to hug her closer and squeeze and rub and stroke everywhere at once. Her hips jerked, she gasped, her eyes screwed shut, and after a long moment’s trembling she slumped back against him with a look of pure peace and delight on her face. He stroked back her hair with one wet, slightly shaky hand, and nuzzled her temple, brushing with his nose and lips. ‘So that was good, right?’ he murmured.

‘Oh, yes...’ she breathed. ‘Don’t you worry.’ She let out a long, soft breath and patted his knee. 

‘I wasn’t really worried. I could sort of tell.’ He kissed her cheek, smiling.

‘Give me five minutes to catch my breath and I’ll take care of you.’ She twisted round to rest on her hip and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head there, her eyes closed.

She fell asleep there, just lightly dozing, and Bolin had to nudge her awake to take her to bed. They curled up together, and if he felt a little disappointed at the postponement of Lin taking care of him, any night he got to sleep beside her was a good night in his book.

 

She woke him at some strange dark hour, kissing him. The fact that it was on the lips surprised him a little bit; deep, lazy kisses, her jaw moving slowly against his as he responded. He wrapped his arms around her, loving the way her tongue stroked his, the soft suction and the sweet tingling in his lips. _I love you and I want to be with you forever and ever._ He didn’t think he’d say that, though, not because he had any doubts left about whether he was in love, just because he knew Lin’s views about forever and ever. The last thing he wanted right now was to bring her back to that.

He was on his back, Lin lying on top of him, warm as a blanket, and he ran his hands up and down her back, feeling the hard wings of her shoulderblades, the smooth curve of her spine, the dip of her waist and the firm swell of her buttocks. Her breasts were pressed to his chest, the prickle of her pubic hair against his lower belly, and his gently rising cock was nestling comfortably into the space between her thighs, as if that were its home. 

After a nice, long, dreamy time, Lin lifted herself up on one arm, leaning over to turn on the bedside lamp. He looked up at her, squinting in the light, and she looked back, quietly admiring him, stroking his hair back from his forehead. Everything was very quiet and very warm. He lifted one hand and touched her face, cheek, chin, then trailed his fingers down her neck, to press his palm between her breasts and feel her heart softly beating. 

‘Aren’t you beautiful,’ she said quietly. She bent to kiss him again, and that was another nice, long, dreamy time, her fingers combing through his hair and her legs gently moving against his, which was also doing wonderful things for his cock, snuggled in where it was. 

‘How do you feel?’ she murmured.

‘Mmm... warm. Mildly horny... getting warmer.’

‘Head still sore?’

‘Maybe... a little... but everywhere else feels good.’ He settled his hands on her hips, slowly kneading. 

‘I know it’s not like me... but I feel like a very slow, sweet, lazy screw. Think you could help me out?’

‘Umm... probably.’


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I finally came up with more for this story. I'm afraid this chapter may seem very disjointed, as it was written in fits and starts over several months. I am not watching Book Two; what I've heard about it, especially the Bolin and Eska storyline, puts me off totally. So here's some happy nonsense I made up for Bolin instead.

After breakfast with Lin, and the usual amount of wistful, reluctant-to-leave front-hall smooching, he made his way over to Asami’s house. The day seemed like some kind of good omen for the Future Industries presentation, with a bright, clear sky and a fresh, but not frosty breeze. It was probably a month or so too early to start looking for signs of spring, but for a winter day it was pretty pleasant. When he arrived at the Sato house and Wei let him in, he found Tahno and Asami still eating their breakfast. This was another good omen for two reasons; firstly, Tahno was actually up, clean and dressed at breakfast time, and secondly, while he wasn’t back to his old fashion-plate self, he seemed to have taken some care with his appearance, chiefly in the form of eyeliner.

‘Morning, sweetie,’ Asami said brightly. She was very composed, beautifully dressed in a mulberry-coloured suit, and you wouldn’t have guessed she was nervous unless you really looked hard at her eyes. She bobbed up from her chair to give Bolin a hug, and he could feel the tension in her arms.

‘Hey! You look great. All grown up and professional. I would _definitely_ let you run a company.’

‘Aw, thanks.’

‘Also, your hair is really pretty, and you smell like jasmine!’

‘You are such a suck-up,’ Tahno said.

‘No, I’m a cheerleader. You look pretty too. Let me smell you?’ Bolin darted over and leaned in, sniffing, while Tahno leaned back and tried to fend him off with chopsticks. ‘Well, you smell clean! And you have fish breath. Man, congee with smoked fish, that looks good. Is there any more?’

‘In the covered dish on the sideboard,’ Asami said, pointing it out. ‘Help yourself. Didn’t you have breakfast?’

‘Yeah, but I could eat. I burn a lot of fuel. I’ve got a metabolism like a blast furnace.’

‘That must be why you only have one and a _half_ chins,’ Tahno remarked as Bolin filled a bowl.

‘Hey, don’t be mean,’ Asami said. ‘You’re on thin ice.’

‘Whuh?’ Bolin asked, his mouth full. 

‘I’ll buy you a new eyeliner,’ Tahno said loftily. ‘It’s not like I have pinkeye.’

‘I would have _given_ you one if you’d _asked_ instead of sneaking into my room and stealing it when I was in the shower,’ Asami retorted.

‘Come on, dude, you don’t sneak into a girl’s room,’ Bolin said, sitting down. ‘You could’ve scared her. Or got electrocuted.’

‘Aren’t you mad about the chin comment?’ Asami asked him.

‘Not really. I mean, I’ve got a little - Mako calls it a dewlap.’ He patted under his chin with the back of his hand. ‘I don’t care, I’m cute as hell. Hey, you coming with us today, Tahno?’

‘I guess. There’s nothing else to do,’ Tahno said ungraciously.

‘You know, you seem better today. Like you still hate the world but you’re a little less miserable. I think it’s a good thing.’ Bolin gave him a warm smile.

‘Why do you _do_ that?’ Tahno sputtered.

‘He’s _nice,’_ Asami said, rolling her eyes as she got up. ‘Okay, I’m going to clean my teeth and get my things together. We can get going in about fifteen.’

She drove them there in one of her father’s highly polished Satomobiles, a long low beast the colour of black cherries. Despite his general unwillingness to be impressed by anything, Tahno made a few gruff comments in its favour. He sprawled across the back seat while Bolin rode up front beside Asami. She kept her eyes firmly on the road ahead, but when they paused at traffic lights he tried to give her encouraging little smiles.

There were a lot of people making submissions to the city council today, and it was only with difficulty and some squeezing that Bolin and Tahno found places in the spectators’ gallery, to wait for Asami’s turn. There was scaffolding up, the debris of the recent damage roughly cleared to the sides of the hall, and they had to crane to see round it. At least, Bolin craned; Tahno leaned on a pillar looking cool and unimpressed.

‘I think she looks good,’ Bolin said. ‘Like, pinning her hair up? Good move, it makes her look more adult. Not that hair is the deciding factor here, but at least I get it, which is more than I can say for all the financial stuff.’

‘Yeah, she looks good,’ Tahno said judiciously. ‘What’s your deal with her, anyway?’

‘Good friends,’ Bolin said.

‘Good friends where you’re waiting for the right time to make your move, or good friends where you have no dick?’

‘Good friends where we’re actually really good friends.’ _I wish I could say ‘and I have a girlfriend, anyway.’_ ‘Guys who only act like girls’ friends to score with them are creeps.’

‘Well, it is a loser’s strategy, I’ll admit.’ Tahno shrugged one-shouldered. ‘I prefer the direct approach myself. I don’t know, maybe you’re smart not to set your sights too high after you struck out with the Uh-vatar.’

‘Tahno, I think - I think maybe the _problem_ here is you don’t know how to be _nice_ to people. Here’s how it works. You say something... that is meant to make them feel _good._ Or at least not worse than they did before you said it. Would you like me to draw you some pictures? Maybe role-play it so you can practise? Pabu is great for this type of thing but I left him with the Air kids.’

‘Are you getting sarcastic with me now?’

‘Not especially, no!’ Bolin put his hands on his hips, frowning at Tahno. 

‘Listen,’ said Tahno, clearly making an effort to be kinder, ‘if you _want_ to get together with her, I could give you some pointers.’

‘That’s not what I’m trying to do. She just broke up with my brother. Believe me, I’ve been over this a lot in my head, among other things.’

‘And your brother is now all cosy with the girl _you_ were dating...’

‘Not exactly dating; we had _a_ date.’

‘Though I guess taking up with Asami wouldn’t even be a good way to get back at him,’ Tahno said, moving over to the railing and leaning on his elbows. ‘I mean, that doesn’t take anything from him _now.’_

‘True,’ said Bolin, carefully. This was the sort of conversation that made him uncomfortably aware of how totally differently some people thought, and maybe without even thinking they were being mean. ‘Uh, have you got brothers or sisters?’

‘Nope, only child.’

‘Oh, okay. Uh, where do your parents live?’ Maybe that was a bad question to ask; if Tahno hadn’t gone home to his parents when everything went wrong for him, maybe they weren’t on good terms.

‘The problem word in that sentence is _live._ They don’t do that any more.’

‘Gee, I’m sorry. I mean, I’m in the same boat, but it must be even harder when you don’t have any sibs to keep you company.’

‘It was okay. My grandma took over. She died a couple of years ago too.’

‘I’m glad you had her.’

‘Listen,’ Tahno said abruptly, ‘I’m going to level with you, okay? I don’t want to be mean, or anything, I just want to be clear. If you’re being so nice to me because you hope you and _I_ are going to hook up, you should give up on that now.’

Bolin clamped his lips together for a moment, then carefully said ‘No, that’s okay. But thanks. You weren’t mean.’

‘Here she comes now,’ Tahno said, oblivious to Bolin’s inner struggle as to whether to laugh in his face or be really insulted. They both leaned over to see Asami walking up towards the council’s dais, flanked by two of her department heads.

If she was feeling nervous, it didn’t show at all. Her voice was strong and steady, she looked calm and confident, she outlined her plans clearly and answered every question from the councillors - not too quickly, with a little pause for thought each time. When she couldn’t answer, she handed over smoothly to the businessmen and engineers. Bolin was so proud of her he could have popped; he kept nudging Tahno to make sure he’d noticed the best parts, until Tahno gave him the evil eye and told him to keep his giant elbows to himself.

The councillors withdrew to confer, and Asami’s shoulders dropped fractionally. One of the engineers, a Water Tribe-looking woman with thick braids, patted her back, and she gave her a grateful smile. 

‘Oh, come on come on come on,’ Bolin muttered, fingers crossed. ‘Tell them, Tenzin. Say yes say yes say yes.’ He couldn’t keep still; he squirmed and hopped and drew embarrassed hisses from Tahno to stop acting like he had fleas.

And they said yes. They said it in a long-winded, important-sounding way, with such a long lead-up to it that he was convinced they were trying to soften the blow of saying no, and Asami and her team took it in such a quiet, dignified way that he wouldn’t have been sure she was happy except for the glad tremble in her voice. He didn’t realise he’d kind of spoiled the dignity of the occasion until the echoes of his own ‘WOO-HOO!’ were dying, and Tahno was doing his best to look as if he not only wasn’t with Bolin, he couldn’t see or hear him at all. Then he decided he didn’t care about that, so he whooped again and hugged the stuffing out of Tahno.

They had to race down to the ground floor to meet Asami on her way out, Bolin pulling Tahno by one arm, pushing and jostling and letting out a stream of ‘sorry!’ and ‘excuse me!’ with the occasional ‘I don’t know him!’ from Tahno. 

There she was, beaming, and he ran to her and threw his arms around her, and felt her laughing as he swung her around. 

‘Congratulations! I knew you could do it! You were _so_ cool!’ He kissed her on the cheek before he thought about it, and she felt velvet soft with just a faint taste of powder.

‘Put me down, silly.’ She staggered when he did, and hooked her arm around his neck, still laughing. He realised that her smart pencil skirt was hobbling her legs a little, and kept one arm round her waist for support until she was steady. Then he realised he really wasn’t helping her to look like a mature businesslady, and backed off, his face hot and pink.

‘Sorry,’ he said, smiling sheepishly.

‘I’m not,’ she said cheerfully. ‘This is as good a time as any to introduce you. Everyone, this is my friend Bolin; Bolin, this is the Future Industries team. We’re just going out for a celebratory lunch - do you want to come with us? You too, of course, Tahno,’ she added, politely but with a shade less enthusiasm.

‘Thanks, but I have... a thing to do,’ Tahno said uneasily. ‘But yeah. Good job.’ He stuck his hands in his pockets and sloped off into the crowds. Bolin didn’t really have time to worry about him, trying to keep up with the introductions and remember that someone here might become his boss. Of course, there was no way he was saying no to lunch. They went to a busy restaurant where yum cha was served, and he alternated between stuffing down as much excellent dim sum as he could and trying to seem like less of a goof than he felt he was. Asami was so _good_ at this type of thing; she could talk just like an adult, and make jokes with them - clever ones! His own main achievement in the conversation so far had been to mispronounce Mr Naidu’s name, which was just great for someone he wanted to take him on as an apprentice. He was getting a little worried that this wasn’t so much lunch as a job interview, in which case he probably shouldn’t have tried to talk to him with three crystal shrimp dumplings tucked into his cheek. 

‘Thank you so much, everyone,’ Asami said at last, getting up. ‘It’s thanks to all of you that we succeeded today. Tomorrow the real work begins - I’ll see you at nine o’clock at the factory. Until then, stay and enjoy yourselves - today is on me.’ She smiled back at their applause, then turned to Bolin. ‘Come on, Bo.’

As he followed her out to the street, and the parked car, he asked anxiously ‘Do you think I made an okay impression? I didn’t know I was going to meet all those important people, or I would’ve worn something nicer.’

‘You were fine,’ she said over her shoulder, hopping into the driver’s seat. ‘Get in - I want to get away from all this.’ She pulled the pins out of her hair and shook it down over her shoulders, rumpling it away from the back of her neck. ‘Talk about hard work.’

She drove them right out of the city and up into the hairpin roads that climbed the mountains behind it. The engine roared, growled or purred, depending on the terrain, and the wind made Bolin’s eyes water and Asami’s hair whirl and snap like a loose banner. Her cheeks grew rosy, and her eyes brightened, with a fierce grin blossoming on her face. 

‘This is more like it!’ she shouted over the motor. ‘Want to learn how to change gear?’

‘Can I _do_ that?’

‘You work the lever, I’ll work the pedals,’ she said. ‘Put your hand here.’ She laid her gloved hand over his on the gearshift. ‘Now, when we start up this hill, I’m going to need to shift down, to a lower gear. We’re going to move the lever back and over. I’ll show you now, and when we shift back up, going down the hill, you can do it. Okay?’

‘What if I mess up? What if I break the car?’ Bolin asked, starting to panic.

‘You won’t,’ Asami said, laughing. ‘Don’t worry, I learned to do this when I was six, the same way. Here we go!’ 

The first shift went smoothly, because she was in charge; on the second, he couldn’t find the gear and there was a horrible grinding noise before she took over and pushed his hand. On the third, he got it right; on the fourth he succumbed to over-confidence and stalled the car. Asami just laughed and got them started again, and kept going until he got the hang of it. Eventually, she stopped at a clifftop where there was a wide sweep of gravel for turning around, and a small Kyoshi shrine. They sat listening to the engine cooling down, with soft metallic ‘pink’ sounds, and staring out over the gunmetal grey ocean, the clouds scudding overhead like shreds of grubby cotton wool. The sun came down in thin, bright spears here and there, making glistening, shifting silver patches on the water.

‘I’ve been so nervous for days,’ Asami sighed. ‘I feel as if something huge is over, but of course it’s just beginning. Thank you for coming with me.’

‘Well, I just watched. I didn’t really do anything to help.’

‘You made me smile,’ she said. ‘That helped. And here you are now, and it’s funny... being with you is sometimes like being alone, but with company. Do you know what I mean? I can just relax.’

‘You’re welcome. Thanks for teaching me to change gears!’

‘Dad used to bring me for drives up around here,’ she said. ‘He taught me to drive a bit at a time. It probably wasn’t very legal to let me sit on his lap and steer, but we never had an accident. You see that ship out there, with the three gold stripes on the smokestack? That’s where he is now.’ A little of the brightness drained out of her face.

‘Have you been to see him?’ Bolin asked hesitantly.

‘I tried. I went out there... General Iroh was very helpful. But he refused to see me. They let me go in anyway, down to the brig... it’s not some kind of dungeon, everything was clean and he has a real bed and a toilet and things. And I really mean he refused to _see_ me. He turned his back and faced into the corner, and it didn’t matter what I said... it didn’t matter that I started to cry. I couldn’t stay in there.’ She sniffed hard and blinked rapidly. ‘I guess he just feels that I’ve betrayed him totally. Well, I feel the same way, but I still _love_ him!’ A tear broke cover and ran down beside her nose. ‘Damnit damnit damnit. I don’t want to keep crying. I just wanted to take you for a nice drive and enjoy it. Kind of celebrate.’ She slid over sideways and dropped her head on Bolin’s shoulder. 

‘It’s okay,’ he said, curling his arm around her. ‘You’re gonna be okay.’

‘This year!’ she said, with a half-sob, half-laugh. ‘This year is just _ridiculous.’_ She nestled closer, with her arm round his waist. ‘I guess I just never get to be a kid again, and I didn’t know it was going to be so soon.’

‘I still feel like a kid, but I guess I have to grow out of that too.’

‘Really?’ Asami lifted her face, her chin on his shoulder. ‘I thought maybe you felt all mature, with your secret affair and everything.’

‘I mean... sometimes.’ His cheeks were heating up. ‘I mean, I suppose, if you’re having sex... ahem.’

‘That would make you feel more like an adult, I guess.’

‘Yeah, but only in that area. Temporarily. Ahem! But I feel like a kid next to _you._ Even before you had to do all this business stuff, you seemed so grown-up and sophisticated.’

‘You learn how to act, that’s all,’ Asami said. She sniffed again, and laid her head back down. ‘Watching the people at his parties, and of course they were very big on deportment at my school. I wanted to get out of that place so badly, I went to summer school two years running so I could graduate early.’

‘What school was that?’ He settled his hand on her hair, giving it what he hoped was a comforting stroke. 

‘Republic City Ladies’ High. They put it right there in the name. _Ladies.’_

‘Oh, the one with the really cute grey uniforms with the red ties?’

‘Ugh, yes. I wanted to go to RC Tech, but it was my mother’s old school and Dad really wanted me to go there. Ladies’ doesn’t even _offer_ auto shop or technical drawing. At least gymnastics was good.’ She sighed. ‘I’m doing it again.’

‘Gymnastics?’

‘No... I’m cuddling up to you. I’m not very good at this self-sufficiency thing lately.’

‘This is not the face of a guy who minds.’

‘Lin’s gonna arreeeeest me,’ she chanted softly. ‘For Grand Theft Boyfriend.’

‘Except according to her, we’re not boyfriend-girlfriend, and she doesn’t even care if I see someone else.’

‘Well, that’s a weird arrangement. Do you think you will?’

‘No. I wish I could spend _more_ time with Lin; I couldn’t, you know, couldn’t give a fair amount of attention to _two_ people at the same time, so that wouldn’t be any good.’

‘So, wait, she seriously wouldn’t care?’ Asami lifted her head a little. ‘That almost makes me want to test her. Like, give you a hickey and see if she minds. Get my lipstick on your collar. _Then_ \- in cockamamie scheme world - she’s pierced to the heart by pangs of jealousy and realises she loves you passionately and you two get married on the steps of city hall.’ She dropped it on his shoulder again and added ‘Or of course in the real world, either she told the truth and she doesn’t care, or her feelings are hurt and it sucks for all concerned.’

‘The dumb thing is, I don’t know about wanting to get _married._ I think she’s right, when I say things like “forever and ever” I don’t mean _literally..._ I guess I just mean I love her so much _right now_ the only way to say it is to talk about forever. So _then_ I think, am I being a jerk to say that? I’m trying to say how I feel but the _way_ I say it is... I don’t know, misleading.’

‘You know, when I met you, I thought you were just adorable and jolly and didn’t have an angsty bone in your body.’

‘I didn’t before _this_ year.’

_‘This_ year!’

‘This _darn_ year!’ Bolin shook his fist in the air, making Asami giggle. 

‘What if you wanted to break up with her, _then_ see someone else, though?’ she asked, still smiling a little.

‘I think she kind of hopes that’ll happen. So she doesn’t have to call it off again, and she knows I’m taken care of.’

‘You look sad about that.’

‘I am. I know it’s got to happen sooner or later... us breaking up, I mean. And it’s going to hurt no matter what.’

‘It would be kind of weirdly civilised,’ Asami said thoughtfully. ‘I could imagine a little handing-over ceremony. With some veiled threats about what she’d do if the new girl didn’t treat you right.’

‘I don’t think she’d even veil them.’

‘True. She’s a tough cookie.’ Asami sat up, tucking her hair back behind her ears, and angled the rear-view mirror to inspect her eye make-up. She dabbed away a tiny smudge with the tip of her little finger, then gave herself a small, approving nod. ‘Let’s go see another tough cookie.’ 

She opened her door and stepped out of the car, walking over to the little stone shrine. Bolin scooted across the bench seat and followed her. It was a rough-hewn thing, clearly made by earthbending, slabs of stone shoved up from the ground to form a triangular shelter over a niche in which you could see that the roughness of the outside was a deliberate choice by a very skilful sculptor. All the inner surfaces of the shrine were decorated with fine bas-relief, symbols of the four nations, and scenes from Kyoshi’s life. In the middle stood a statue of Kyoshi herself, one hand wielding a fan, the other holding a fireball; one foot planted in the earth, the other in a pool of water. Around it, people had left small items, offerings like shells, pebbles, dried flowers and coins threaded on ribbons.

‘I think she’s my favourite Avatar after Aang,’ Asami said, folding her arms against the chilly wind off the ocean. ‘She had a lot of time for us non-benders - even founded that order of warrior women so girls without any bending could defend themselves and their people after she was gone.’ She folded her hands together. ‘Avatar Kyoshi, please watch over me and inspire me. Help me to be brave and smart. This is something I like; I hope you like it too. Thank you.’ She unsnapped a small gold hair-clip from over her temple and set it down at the statue’s feet, then glanced at Bolin. ‘Do you want to leave something?’

‘Oh, sure.’ He put his hands together, feling a little self-conscious, the way he always did when anything with spirits came up. ‘Um, Avatar Kyoshi... I’m not a leader, like you or Korra or Asami here. I just try to be a good team player. So please, help me to help the people I care about, so I can be there when they need me and get their backs and... yeah. Thanking you in advance, sincerely, Bolin.’ He didn’t think he had any gift he could offer; the only precious thing he had on him was Lin’s bracelet, and he wasn’t parting with that for anything. He stuck his hand in his pocket and dug out a few copper coins. Good, he could work with that; he pressed them together between his hands, then pinched out petals until he had a little copper rose-bud, just starting to bloom. He placed it, with a soft clink, beside Asami’s hair-clip.

‘That’s so neat,’ Asami said fondly. ‘I’m sure Kyoshi will like it.’ She reached over, took his hand and squeezed it gently. ‘Hey, want to learn to drive? Properly?’

‘You really think the edge of a cliff is a good place for my first driving lesson?’

‘Okay, I’ll drive us somewhere a little less... precipitous to start off.’

Asami was awfully patient with him, given how horribly he ground the gears and bunny-hopped her poor car. At one point, he did almost run off the road, and had to quickly earthbend up a kind of ramp to skid the car back in the right direction. When it shuddered to a stop, slewed diagonally across the road, Asami declared the lesson very definitely over.

‘Don’t worry! You did good for a first-timer. Next time... next time we’ll practise somewhere _flat.’_ She gave a shaky laugh. ‘Totally flat!’

She drove him down to the docks, where he could get a water taxi, and blew him a kiss as she drove off.

‘You lucky so-and-so,’ said the taxi captain.

Back on the island, the three children were playing a game with Pabu, passing him from one to another on whirligigs of fresh air. He seemed to have taken to it just fine, even to enjoy being bounced around that way. When Bolin came up the steps from the dock, though, he somersaulted down and bounded over to him, scrambling up his leg and around his body to perch on his shoulder, nibbling at his ear and squeakily scolding him for staying away so long.

 

It was late in the evening before he could get into the bathroom, since the kids all had to have baths, then Korra wanted one, then Pema. He was afraid the bath would be cold, but someone must have stoked up the firebox underneath, and it was gloriously hot when he slid in, feeling freshly scrubbed and virtuous. Pabu sat on the edge of the bath by his shoulders, occasionally licking him with his pointed little tongue. He was playing with the toy submarine when Mako came in, looking slumped and tired. He’d been quiet all evening, Bolin thought.

‘Hey, big bro,’ he chirped.

‘Little bro,’ said Mako wearily. He started peeling off his clothes, dropping them in a heap on the floor.

‘Rough day?’ Bolin twisted around, folded his arms on the bath’s edge and rested his chin on them.

‘I’m getting burned out,’ Mako said. Naked, he sat down on a stool and sloshed a basin of water over himself, then began to wash his hair.

‘Avatar stuff?’

‘Korra stuff.’ Mako shook his head under its cap of shampoo foam. ‘Which I guess is Avatar stuff, but not only... I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.’

‘About what?’ Bolin asked. 

‘Well, uh, I guess we can talk about this.’ Mako didn’t start talking about it, though, rinsing his hair first, and starting to soap up his body. 

‘Yeah?’ Bolin turned back to the submarine. 

‘Well, uh, she’s, uh, she’s really _frisky.’_

‘Uh-huh.’

‘I mean... I don’t think I’m ready for that...’ Mako’s face was red, and he was scrubbing his underarms harder than they probably needed. ‘And she shouldn’t be either. It’s just too risky. I mean I love kissing her, holding her, being _close,_ but she always has to take it too far, and I start getting excited, but _then_ I think about her being pregnant and the two of us having to bring up a kid, _now,_ and that kills it dead. And I have to make excuses to stop and she gets all disappointed and pouty, but what does she expect?’

‘Ummm... have you told her that?’

‘Doesn’t it go without saying?’

‘Maybe not. You know she’s used to getting what she wants.’ Bolin wound up the little propellor on the submarine and launched it across the bath. ‘But you know, I don’t think you need to worry so much about the pregnancy side. Why not just use rubbers?’

‘Because they don’t work every time, and one time is enough to ruin everything. You don’t know how hard it is to raise a kid; I do. I can only imagine how much worse it is when you have to start off with a helpless newborn baby.’ Mako dumped more water over himself and came over to the bath, lowering himself in with a sigh. The submarine drifted up and butted against his chest, and he pushed it back towards Bolin. 

‘Okay,’ Bolin said, catching it. ‘So just don’t have _sex_ sex. You can do lots of other stuff to get each other off.’ He had said it before he quite realised how, er, _raunchy_ it sounded, and felt his face flood red.

‘Well, I guess you’d be the expert,’ Mako said, blushing too. His voice squeaked slightly as he asked ‘What’s it like?’

‘Um, _sex_ sex, or the other stuff?’ Bolin started winding up the propellor again, to have something unembarrassing to do with his hands.

‘Any of it.’

‘Well, uh, it’s... it’s amazingly, awesomely great. But at the same time, it’s really weird, especially at first. I mean, it’s really... _squishy._ I had no idea how messy it was going to be. Two people having sex produce a _lot_ of liquids.’

‘Wow, you’re really selling it,’ Mako said drily. 

‘No, but don’t forget the awesomely great part! It’s just - I didn’t know about the weirdness going in, and I want to help you out.’ He released the submarine and it whizzed across to Mako, hitting him in the arm. ‘I mean, you’re in a really different position than I was because you haven’t done this before and I guess Korra hasn’t either, so you’ll be figuring it out together, whereas I was just sort of blundering around and Lin was telling me what to do. So I mean - some of it might surprise _Korra_ too. So it’ll help if you can tell her that’s normal and not to worry.’

‘Okay. I guess.’

‘Of course, I really only know what’s normal for Lin. She says it’s important to remember each girl is different, so to start with you need to take it slow and ask her what she likes and if she’s not sure, try things out really gently. Though I think Korra seems like the kind of girl who knows what she likes.’

‘She, um, she told me she thinks about me when... actually, you know, I think that’s too much information.’

‘Um. Maybe.’ It felt as if all the blood in his body was in his face right now. He splashed some warm bathwater over it and that felt tepid by comparison. ‘But, you know, according to Lin that’s a good thing. Pretty much everything I know about this is “according to Lin”. Anyway, I think the important part is that you tell her how you’re feeling and ask her what she wants and just try to clear it all up so you’re on the same page.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Mako said. ‘Anyway, _we_ don’t have to talk about it any more.’

‘Good, because I was about to blush to death.’

 

In the morning, he was woken by Ikki gently pinching his nose closed until he bolted up with a gasp for air. 

‘Good mooooorning,’ she sang. ‘Asaaaaaaaaami’s on the pho-hone.’ She held out her arms and Pabu jumped into them, planting his paws on her shoulder and nuzzling at her pointed chin. 

Bolin shuffled out to the telephone and smothered a yawn before speaking into the mouthpiece. ‘Hello?’

‘Good morning,’ Asami said. She sounded bright and perky, and it was nice to hear her voice, if only he could have heard it and stayed in bed, which was so comforting and warm. The floor was cold, and he leaned his shoulder on the wall and put one foot on top of the other so he only had to have one chilly sole at a time.

‘Hey, good morning. How’re you?’

‘Ready to face the day. I wanted to ask you if you’d be available this afternoon for an interview with Mr Naidu.’

‘Like a job interview?’ he asked, his head clearing.

‘Exactly like that.’

‘I never had a job _interview_ before. I don’t know how to do it.’

‘Well, neither have I. But I would say, wear that nice suit we got you at Boomies, make sure your teeth and nails and ears are all clean, smile and be polite, and answer all his questions like a good boy. Do you want to do it? You don’t have to, but if you don’t, I really need you to tell me so I don’t waste his time.’

‘Yeah, of course I want to do it. I’m really grateful that you’re helping me so much.’

‘Great. Okay, you know where the factory is, right? Go to the side entrance and follow the signs to the metal workshop. His office is at the top of the stairs over the factory floor. He can see you at three-thirty, so try to get there at about three-twenty to look all organised and eager. There are a lot of interviews and organising going on today, so don’t be late.’

‘Right, right, hold on.’ He grabbed the pen from the telephone table and wrote a note on the back of his forearm. ‘Okay, three-twenty, metal workshop.’

‘And when you get out, come by _my_ office and tell me how it went - it should be just about time for tea.’

 

Mako _had_ had job interviews, if only for temp and casual positions, and he helped out by drilling Bolin with typical interview questions over breakfast. The three of them were eating alone, since Tenzin and his family had been taken out early on an outing by Bumi, to spend the day on his ship.

‘How do I know what I want to be doing in five years? I’m sixteen! Do they really ask you that?’

‘It’s just this _thing_ they all learn to ask at boss school or something,’ Mako said, shrugging.

‘Is it good or bad to say I want to be a pro bender? Because that’s not the job he’s offering. But then, I don’t know if I _always_ want to be a pro bender. I just really like it.’

‘How could it be bad? Pro bending is awesome,’ Korra interjected. ‘Besides, when everything’s back up and running, won’t Asami want to sponsor the Fire Ferrets again? So it’s practically Future Industries business.’

‘So there’ll still be a Fire Ferrets team?’ Bolin asked, feeling a little fillip of excitement. ‘You’d still want to be part of that?’

‘Duh!’ she said, leaning over and stealing a pickled plum from his bowl. ‘It’s one of the things I look forward to when everything that’s going on now just seems too hard.’

‘I didn’t realise that,’ Mako said, looking uncomfortable. ‘Do you really think that’s such a good idea for the Avatar?’

‘I was already the Avatar when I joined your team,’ she pointed out. ‘I was kind of born that way.’

‘But so much has happened since then. The situation is a lot more complicated.’

‘I have to have _some_ fun,’ Korra protested. ‘Anyway, I’m a role model. I _should_ be doing cool stuff that kids can look up to. Don’t you want to do it?’

‘Pro bending was always more of a means to an end for me,’ Mako said carefully. ‘It was a way to earn money, it was legal and generally pretty safe, and it was something Bo and I could do together so I could keep an eye on him. If he’s going to get a job, I think he should really focus on that and not half-ass it.’

Korra’s eyes narrowed. ‘I hope you’re not suggesting I’m a half-assed Avatar.’

‘I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about Bolin. You know how he is.’

‘How _am_ I?’ Bolin asked. ‘Who said I was going to half-ass it? I want to learn more metalbending, and I don’t want to let Asami down. Or you.’

‘I didn’t mean that,’ Mako said, coming very close to ‘snapped.’ He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before explaining, ‘I mean... you’re so optimistic you might try to do more than you can handle and not be able to do any of it very well. Then you’ll feel bad because you _want_ to do a good job but you over-committed yourself. That goes for both of you, actually. You’re a lot alike that way, and I feel like I have to be the one who says something.’

‘Oh. Okay,’ said Bolin, mollified.

‘Hmph,’ said Korra.

‘Come on. You know I’m only worrying about you because I love you,’ Mako mumbled. After glancing sheepishly at Bolin he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and added an even more indistinct ‘sweetie.’

‘Oh, _do_ you,’ said Korra, with a gleeful smile spreading across her face.

‘You know I do. I said so, didn’t I?’

‘You need to tell me every day,’ she declared, and pounced on him with an audible smooch.

 

Bolin was trying so hard not to be late for the interview that he was far too early, reaching the side gate to the factory at three. Fortunately there was a café across the road where he could lurk and get more nervous until three-twenty rolled around. He hoped he wasn’t going to have to take his jacket off, because he was pretty sure he had sweated armpit circles onto his nice clean shirt. It all felt so official and grown up and he felt about ten years old in the face of it.

There was a watchman sitting in a shed just inside the gate, who looked up his name on a clipboard and pointed out the door he needed to go to. The factory was a complex of buildings in dark red brick and grey corrugated iron, with huge roller doors set into the walls at intervals and smaller, ordinary ones with signboards next to them listing the workshops and offices within. He could hear sounds of pounding, whirring and clanging, and there were dozens of people in suits and overalls hurrying around, arms loaded with folders and tools.

The door of the metal workshop opened on a huge space full of workbenches and conveyor belts, pulleys and cables hanging from the ceiling, with metal catwalks running overhead. Over against one wall was a bank of lockers for employees, and above that, a sort of glassed-in mezzanine where he could see desks and bookcases and officey things like that. 

‘You here for the interviews?’ asked a beefy woman with her hair tied up under a scarf.

‘Um, yeah, I’m supposed to see Mr Naidu at three-thirty.’

‘He’ll be down for you at three-thirty, then. Take a seat.’ She jerked her head towards a bench and hurried off.

Bolin sat down, wondering where the others were, since she’d said ‘interviews.’ That question was answered after a moment when a boy a little older than him came out of a door marked ‘WC,’ wiping his hands on his pant, and sat down beside him, shortly followed by a girl in school uniform who came in from outside and sat with her hands tightly clasped on her knees.

‘Hi, I’m Bolin,’ he said, and gave her a friendly smile. She gave him a look of alarm and scooted away from him on the bench. ‘It’s okay, I don’t bite,’ he added.

‘Can’t talk. Nervous,’ she squeaked.

‘You’re not going to get the apprenticeship with that attitude,’ the other boy said. He was sitting slouched back with his knees as far apart as they could go.

‘Shhh!’ she hissed.

‘It’s okay to be nervous, but try not to psych yourself out,’ Bolin said. ‘I guess you’re both earthbenders like me?’

The girl shook her head once, rapidly. ‘Water,’ she said. ‘More accurately, steam.’

‘You’re in the wrong place, then,’ the other boy drawled. ‘This is the metal shop.’

‘But they told me to come in here!’ she said in a panic. 

‘Then I bet it’s okay. Look at that machine over there, there’s steam coming out of it and a guy doing stuff with it. Hey, what’s your name?’

‘Rika,’ she said.

‘Well, don’t worry, Rika. Believe me, I’m nervous too. This is my first ever interview.’

‘I’ve had seven,’ she said miserably. ‘The careers teacher keeps sending me.’

‘So you know what to do!’

‘She knows how to fail,’ the other boy grinned.

Bolin gave him a Look, then turned back to Rika. ‘I hate to say this, but I really hope we don’t end up working with him.’

Rika uttered a startled giggle which she quickly smothered, looking guilty. Bolin liked the way her face changed when she laughed - her nose crinkled and her lips drew back to show bunny teeth, much cuter than you’d expect for how serious and blank she’d looked a moment before. She had a round face, grey-blue eyes and a complexion like very milky tea. She was a bit chubby, and her dark brown hair was parted in the middle and divided into two heavy braids. He realised he was noticing all that because he kind of liked her and hoped they would both be hired. Was there more than one apprenticeship available? He didn’t want to have to compete with someone he already liked.

There was a creak on the staircase as a heavyset man descended it. Bolin looked up and saw Mr Naidu, who looked almost as wide as he was tall, with a bald, block-like head and very dark brown skin. His eyes were large and mournful-looking, with heavy shadows underneath. He was sliding a pen down the surface of a clipboard, stopped near the bottom, looked up and called out ‘Bolin?’

‘Present!’ he said, bouncing up and raising his hand. The other boy sniggered and slouched lower. 

‘Ah, yes, I remember you. Well, come on up,’ Naidu said, turning and lumbering back up the stairs. As Bolin turned to follow him, he felt a tug on the sleeve of his jacket.

‘Good luck!’ Rika whispered furtively, as if she thought she’d get into trouble for saying such a thing.

‘Thanks - you too.’

He followed the wide, grey-suited back up the metal staircase, trying not to think how much Mr Naidu reminded him of an elephant. At the top, they went into one of the glass-walled offices, where Mr Naidu pointed him towards a seat facing a large, cluttered desk.

‘Okay,’ he said, easing his own bulk down into a suitably massive and sturdy chair. ‘I remember you from yesterday’s lunch. That’s a start. Miss Sato tells me you’ve had some metalbending training from Lin Beifong, which is a better start.’

‘Um, she says hi. She said she remembered you,’ Bolin said. ‘Chief Beifong, that is.’

‘And you used to be a pro bender - I saw a few of your matches. Of course, we were sponsoring you for a while there, weren’t we?’

‘Uh, yeah. We really appreciated that.’

‘Mm-hmm.’ Naidu settled back in his chair and seemed to go into a trance, staring at the top of the desk immovably. Bolin was about to try waving a hand before his eyes when he abruptly looked up and said ‘I will never understand that, you know. The way Sato operated. Sponsoring your team when he must have despised you. How friendly he always was to me, when he must have despised me too. And how did he think his business was going to operate with bending eliminated? The man was mad, and I never had the least idea about it.’

Bolin could only shrug uncomfortably. ‘He was really nice to us too,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t believe it.’

‘So,’ Naidu said briskly, as if all that were behind them, ‘let’s see what you can do. A ninety-degree angle, please.’ He picked a thin metal bar out of a tray on the desk and tossed it over to Bolin, who caught it by reflex before it could hit him on the chin. 

‘Um, what’s that?’

‘You don’t know any geometry,’ Naidu said, and made a note on his clipboard.

‘D-does that mean I can’t have the job?’ he asked, his face falling.

‘Not at all, it merely means I would make sure to teach you, _if_ I decided to take you on. A ninety-degree angle is a right angle. Like the corner of a square. Simply bend the bar to form that corner.’

‘Oh, okay.’ That wasn’t so hard. The composition of the metal was an alloy he hadn’t felt before, but it was smooth to work with. He concentrated, hoping to make a good impression by getting it in one go, and made a sharp bend in the bar. He handed it back to Naidu, who measured it against a set-square.

‘Ninety-two degrees,’ he said, and made another note on the clipboard. 

‘Could I have a do-over?’

‘That’s actually unusually good for a beginner.’ Naidu lapsed into silence again, staring at Bolin’s face this time, tapping his own chin thoughtfully. ‘All right,’ he said abruptly. ‘Report at nine tomorrow morning. You’ll be issued overalls and safety gear. You are responsible for cleaning your own overalls and boots - this is a clean and tidy workplace and I won’t have people slobbing about.’

‘Does - does that mean I’ve got the job?’

‘Didn’t I say so?’

And so, just like that, he was an apprentice. 

He’d had no idea how his life would change. He’d never had any routines before except what Mako insisted on, but now work meant a strict timetable. The nine o’clock starts only lasted a month - what they really meant was that the people responsible for training him could get their own work done uninterrupted for a couple of hours before he showed up to slow them down. Once he was judged sufficiently useful, he had to start getting up at five-thirty to make it to work at seven. Rika, who had been apprenticed along with him, would meet him halfway to work when he walked through her neighbourhood, and they’d go the rest of the way together, chatting to keep themselves awake in the chilly darkness. That was on mornings when he’d spent the night before at ‘home,’ anyway, as he’d come to think of the island. He could get up later and get to work easier when he’d stayed with Lin, on the nights when he had his evening classes in mathematics, about which he was even more ignorant than he’d previously suspected.

She approved of him having a job, and kept suggesting that now he was earning, he could get an apartment and be near both her and his work. He was still putting it off on the grounds that he didn’t feel ready to leave Mako.

‘Why, though?’ Lin asked as they ate dinner in her kitchen, Earth Kingdom take-out this time. ‘He’d be fine. And it would be good for you to be more independent. I couldn’t wait to move out of home when I was your age. I got my first little place on my rookie’s salary - to my mother’s profound irritation, because she would have paid for me to have a much better place, but I had something to prove.’

‘I thought you always lived here.’ Bolin gestured with his soup-spoon to the house around them, in general.

‘No, I had a few different apartments when I was younger. It was important to Tenzin and me at the time because - well, we didn’t have any privacy at his parents’ house, and although my mother kept saying it was fine for him to stay over, I always felt like she could hear everything in the house even if she didn’t want to. He’d come out and stay with me - though he’d never move off the island. I understood his reasons for that, though in hindsight it was kind of a warning sign.’ She pointed her chopsticks at him. ‘You, however, have no such reason.’

‘I do! My brother lives there. And my pet, because I can’t take Pabu away from Ikki and Meelo. They love him now.’

‘Then let them keep him,’ she said, shrugging one shoulder, ‘and you can visit him when you miss him. It’ll be easier for you to find a place without a pet anyway.’

‘But I’ll miss him all the time,’ Bolin said plaintively. ‘I’m missing him right now. His little furry face, and his beady eyes, and his fluffy tail, and the way he’ll curl up to sleep with his paws over his face, and he twitches when he’s dreaming. I mean, I get why I can’t have him with me at work, he could get hurt too easy, but I wish I could have him the rest of the time.’

‘You get to spend your evening with me and you’re pining for your fire ferret?’ she asked, raising one eyebrow. 

‘He’s just so cute. Plus, I’m crazy about you, but I’ve had him since I was little. He was just a tiny dirty scabby baby, and I fed him chewed-up food and bathed him and picked the mats out of his fur till he was all sleek and beautiful.’ Bolin chewed, trying to think how to get her to understand. ‘He was my first ever responsibility of my own. I mean, except for not getting kidnapped while Mako was at work. I had to prove I was responsible enough to take care of him, or Mako said we had to sell him to a restaurant. He was kidding. I think. I’m never entirely sure. Anyway, when I was feeling really small and scared, Pabu would snuggle in my arms and look up at me all trusting. It made me feel better that he believed in me so much.’ He shrugged.

‘That is _alarmingly_ sweet,’ Lin said. ‘Okay. Then I suggest you get the Air kids a ferret of their own, and get yours back.’

‘Hmm... maybe. You want one too?’

‘Oh, hell no. You’re plenty of pet for me. Thank goodness I don’t have to chew your food or pick mats out of your fur.’

‘Yeah, I groom my own fur.’ He preened his hair with one hand. ‘So I guess the main incentive for me to get my own place is sexy Lin visits? Ooh! Sexy _secret_ Lin visits? Where you spider-lady in through the window in the dead of night and ravish me and disappear before dawn?’

‘If you play your cards right,’ Lin said, shrugging.

‘Leaving me to wonder if it was aaaaaall just a beautiful dream.’ 

‘Dreams aside, tomorrow’s Saturday and we’re both free. Would you like to stay and spend the day? Receiving intensive, specialised metalbending instruction, of course.’

‘Oh, um. I’m sorry, I already told Asami I’d go to her place and help her work on her car.’

‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘Nothing, it just needs maintenancey stuff, you know, um, oil? I guess? She’s going to teach me about it, and give me another driving lesson. She says I’m nearly ready to take my test.’

‘She’s poaching my pupil,’ Lin said in mock indignation. 

‘Well, not like _that.’_ Bolin caught her hand and kissed it. 

‘I think she should give it a shot. There’s _nothing_ more fun than hitting on Bolin in mid-lesson.’

‘Not while _driving,_ come on.’ 

‘You blushed just thinking about it. I’m really rooting for her now. She should grab your dick on a sharp corner. Or just reach over and pinch your nipple.’ She tweaked it through his shirt.

_‘Lin!’_

‘Oh, don’t act so shocked. You love this.’ She got off her stool and straddled his lap, rubbing his chest. ‘Look at this rack.’

‘They’re not _boobs,_ they’re pecs.’

‘I know, baby. They’re very manly.’ She gave them a squeeze. ‘I think they’ve got a little bigger.’

‘Growing boy,’ he said with a modest shrug.

‘Fat or muscle, though?’

‘Muscle! Actually, I think I lost a little puppy fat lately, you know, round my waist.’

‘Don’t lose it all. I like you chunky.’ She slid her hands down to his waist and untucked his shirt, pinching the flesh. ‘Yeah, there’s still a little chub here.’

‘Hey, I think I can do that - alternating flexes thing, make them dance.’

‘No! Don’t. It’s so creepy. Here, arms up.’ Lin pulled his shirt and undershirt up and over his head together. ‘How are these little cuties?’ She took his nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and gently twiddled them.

‘You’re tuning in the radio,’ he said, chuckling. ‘Here is the news - bzzt - it’s a long, long way to Ba Sing - chhhh - for a limited time - reeeee - previously on _The Pirates_ mmph!’ He was cut off by Lin kissing him hard and pinching his nipples quite roughly, though the shock only made him giggle and squirm. As the giggling got worse, she pinched harder and sucked his lip, smothering her own laughter. 

‘Stop it.’

‘I can’t! Come on, don’t stretch them out, what if they won’t go back?’

‘I love when they go all puffy and swollen.’

‘You are _so mean._ ’

‘You can retaliate,’ she said, smiling. ‘Do you mess with them when you play with yourself?’

‘Who says I still play with myself?’

‘I see you two nights a week, three if I’m lucky. I _know_ you’re playing with yourself.’ She leaned in and breathed in his ear. ‘Tell me all about it.’

‘Okay... I will if you ease up a little.’ He was breathing harder, and a sweet deep heat was growing in his lap. ‘Anyway... you know I nearly always have morning wood when I wake up. So I take care of that before I get up. I don’t do anything fancy then, I just rub it till I come.’

‘When do you get fancy?’

‘At night. I take a bath so I feel all warm and cosy. I go to bed, and I get comfortable on my back, and I think about you.’

‘Such a sweet baby. So then...’

‘I rub my chest.’ He closed his eyes to concentrate better on how it felt. ‘So it feels warm... and good... my nips start to get hard, and I rub them, just gently. _Gently,_ not like you. Sometimes I’ll lick my fingers to make them wet.’

‘Like this?’

_‘Yes._ And my cock starts getting all hot and tingly, and I can feel it thicken up. I keep one hand rubbing my chest, and I work the other one down over my belly. And I work around my cock at first, I rub my belly and my thighs, the inside at the top, and I see how long I can stand not to touch it.’

‘Not long?’

‘Not long... oh...’ His nipples were burning, and it felt like each pinch tugged on a cord running down inside him to the root of his cock. ‘So I start stroking it with my left hand. I just cup it and rub it, nice and slow and steady. And I suck my fingers on my right hand to make them really wet, and I pull up my knees and spread my legs, and I stick them down into my butt.’

‘That _is_ fancy. How many fingers?’

‘Two, two’s plenty. I stroke them in and out to get it opened up a bit. Oh Lin...’

‘You’re okay. Keep talking.’

‘Then I... I get that blob of toy-metal you gave me out from under the pillow, I flow it like you taught me... I slip it in and I make it into a plug, and I make it bigger, I hollow it out inside so I can swell it out.’

‘Then?’

‘Then I’m so hard and it feels so good I can’t think any more, and I just pump it till I come.’

‘I hope you wash that plug afterwards.’

‘Always, I promise.’

‘And do you use the lube I gave you?’

‘Yeah, I forgot to say. I’d have a hell of a sore ass if I didn’t. I rub it on my cock too, because it feels so nice and squishy. Nearly as good as... Lin, I’m _really_ hard. Will you let it out of my pants?’

‘You’re so passive. You could do that yourself.’

‘I know, but I like letting you be in charge.’

‘Can you bend your zip down by yourself?’

‘But I want youuuuu to do it.’ He pouted at her.

‘Okay. Here we go.’ She flicked her finger in the air and his zip slid down by one tooth, then stopped. She smirked at him.

‘Mean mean mean!’

‘Come on...’

‘Okay. I’m only doing as much as you do.’ One tooth down.

‘I’m so proud of you for having that much control.’ One tooth further.

‘Please, Lin...’ His finger shook and he went down two notches by mistake.

‘You can take over any time you want.’ One notch, and she did it slowly.

‘I don’t _wanna._ I want you to yank it right down and pop me out. _Pleeeeeease.’_ He intensified the pout, wibbling his lower lip and gazing up at her with puppy-dog eyes. _‘Pwease?’_

‘Baby.’ She said it mockingly, but she dragged his zip down and slipped her hand in.

 

He still had it on his mind the next day, out on Asami’s driveway. It was a sunny day for once, so the cement of the driveway had dried and was even a little warm to sit on. That was nice, since his main job was to sit on it and pass tools to Asami as she scooted in and out from under the jacked-up car, lying on a trolley on castors. She was wearing overalls, with her hair tied up in a scarf like one of her own factory girls. High in the sky overhead, a United Forces airship was slowly cruising by. Bolin squinted up at it, shading his eyes with his hand.

‘Do you know if they’re going to stay a lot longer?’ he asked Asami.

‘No idea,’ she said, her voice a little muffled under the car. ‘You’re better placed than I am to find out stuff like that. You live with the Avatar and a city councilman.’

‘I guess. It seems so nosy to ask, and they don’t just tell me things. I’m not anyone important like you, and I guess it’s not like I’d need to know.’

Asami came trundling out and gave him a Look. ‘You’d have every right to ask, you know. You need to assert yourself more. Can you give me the five-eighths?’

‘Yes I can! Did that sound assertive?’ He handed over the tool.

‘Confident, but that’s not the same. You were assertive that time you yelled at my dad.’

‘Well, I was doing that for you, not me.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Asami said. ‘I’m not very good at it either - it’s easier when it’s for someone else’s sake. When it’s just for me, I keep thinking things like, if I’m patient, maybe it will work out on its own, or maybe someone else will say something.’ She shook her head and scooted back under the car. ‘And we saw how well _that_ worked with _Mako.’_

‘Are you still feeling low about that?’ he asked, rolling over onto his side to look at her under the chassis.

‘Not really. Not day to day. I just get ticked off when I think about it. I wish I’d told him sooner how upset I was, or kept at him till he gave me a straight answer. It was never going to work out, but we could have had it over with sooner.’

‘Have you met anyone else you might like to date?’

Asami gave him another Look, this one more wry. ‘I’m not exactly meeting young hotties at work. Mostly middle-aged guys. In the category young guys, the one I see most of is Tahno, because he’s always around. At least he doesn’t seem as unhappy as he used to, but I really want you to talk to him about what he’s going to do next. When I move, I’m not taking him with me.’

‘I know. Thanks for putting up with him so long. I was wondering if maybe he and I should get a place together.’

‘He’s not your responsibility, though. Do you really want to?’

‘Ehhh... no. Lin would be really ticked.’

‘Well, it’s not up to her either,’ Asami pointed out. ‘You need to figure out what _you_ want.’

‘Well, I know what I _want,’_ he said, rolling onto his back. ‘I want to live with Lin and Pabu, and not have to hide anything, and be super happy.’ The airship began to eclipse the sun, the brightness seeming to swell around its sides. He closed his eyes and sighed.

‘Okay. What do you want that you _could_ have?’

‘I don’t know. Keep on getting better at metalbending - and I know I will if I keep working at it. Mr Naidu says I’m really talented. The only reason he can’t move me onto more advanced work is that I know squat about math and geometry and things, and you’ve got to know those to do technical bending. Lin gets me to meditate on metal and stones sometimes. It’s a little spooky going down so deep. You can see the little grains and crystals and things so big and clear. She gave me a piece of platinum last night, and I was like, I can’t do anything with this, nobody can, and she said just try it. Well, I couldn’t make it _do_ anything, but I could kind of... feel inside it. Lin says she can’t do _that._ That made me really nervous.’

‘Why?’

‘Because if I can do something my teacher can’t do, she can’t tell me how to handle it.’

‘I guess that’s a problem anyone who comes up with something new in bending has. Hand me a rag?’ Asami’s hand emerged from under the car, and he put an oily cloth into it.

‘It isn’t really anything new yet. If I could bend platinum, that would be crazy. I don’t know if I should even try.’

‘Of course you should. It’s not as if the idea of using platinum to defeat metalbenders just goes away because my dad’s locked up. If there’s at least one person who can fight that, well, anyone thinking about using it will have to think twice.’

‘Maybe. Iron’s my best metal. I guess because it’s the first one I worked with. Plus we have a lot of iron in our bodies, so it’s kind of natural. I feel a lot more comfortable with that. It’s nice and rough and chunky, not slick and icy like platinum. There are lots of ways you can get hold of it and work it. Oh, and iron was the first metal that Toph Beifong bent when she invented the technique. I wish I could ask her for tips.’

‘You want to ask your secret girlfriend’s dead mother for metalbending tips?’ Asami asked, sounding amused.

‘Well, yeah! If Korra can get Avataring tips from Aang, I don’t see why not. Toph was his friend, so maybe I should ask Korra to ask him to hook me up.’

‘Yeah, but what if she’s like, WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS TOWARDS MY DAUGHTER and won’t tell you anything?’ Asami’s voice boomed hollowly against the metal underside of the car and she laughed.

‘Well, I’d say, you go ask your daughter what her intentions are towards _me._ Cause she started this!’ He rolled onto his side again and sighed. ‘Wonder what her intentions _are.’_

‘You mean, when she’s going to break up with you again?’

‘Ouch. Yeah.’

‘Maybe you two need to set a date.’ Asami pushed herself out from under the car and sat up, wiping her hands on her overalls.

‘Depressinnnnnngggg.’ He sat up and offered her one of the bottles of pop they had brought out with them.

‘Yeah, I know. Can you get the cap off this?’

‘Oh, of course.’ He popped the metal cap and crumpled it into a ball before opening his own. They drank in silence. Asami sniffed and tucked an escaping curl of hair behind her ear. She had a smudge of grease on her chin where she must have rubbed an itch.

‘Hey,’ she said, and scooted over to sit close beside him. To his surprise, she dropped her head over onto his shoulder, and sort of pushed the top of her head against his cheek, the scarf tickling his face. ‘It’s all going to be okay.’

‘Thank you.’ He rubbed his cheek back against her head, as if she were Pabu.

‘Has she said anything? Like she’s planning it?’

‘Just her usual hints about the mythical next girlfriend.’

‘How do you mean mythical? I bet you could find another girlfriend easily. A _real_ girlfriend who can go out with you in public and everything. Someone sweet and cute with no complicated baggage.’

‘Well, I don’t have a _ban_ on baggage. Just, you know, I think this time I’d like her to be under twenty. That’s really the only thing I’m gonna be _picky_ about.’

‘Really? I thought you definitely wanted someone with a clean slate.’

‘Not specially. I mean, I don’t want her to have some kind of heinous criminal past, but I don’t expect her to have been sitting in a box waiting to meet me.’

‘So anything in between heinous criminal past and sitting in a box is eligible?’

‘Yep. She can sit in a box sometimes if she likes it, I don’t want to cramp her style.’

Asami cleared her throat, carefully. ‘How about girls who used to date your brother?’

Bolin blinked, startled. ‘Um. I, I didn’t think - I mean, I would’ve thought, as the brother of said brother, _I_ was off the menu.’ He felt something like a warm caterpillar crawling up his spine. Asami was just sitting still, leaning against his shoulder, but the _quality_ of her stillness had changed. ‘And you know, you said a lot of stuff about... not wanting to depend on me or treat me like your boyfriend.’

‘I go back and forth on that,’ Asami said quietly. ‘Currently… forth.’

‘Wow.’ He swallowed hard. ‘So this is a thing.’

‘But it’s not as if I can just say… drop her and switch to me and everything will be perfect. I don’t know if it _will_ be perfect. And… well, if you _could_ just drop her and switch to me, I wouldn’t want you so much. You wouldn’t be the guy I think you are.’

‘I - I hope I am.’

‘So think about it,’ Asami said. ‘Just… know that it’s a possibility.’ She lifted her head and boosted herself off the ground, and once she was on her feet, offered him a hand to get up. ‘Not that I’ll wait around for you forever, just that I’ll be thinking about it too.’

‘Wow. Thank you.’ 

‘How about we clean up here, and I’ll give you another driving lesson?’ she asked, stepping back and dusting off the seat of her pants.

They were just about ready to get into the car when Tahno appeared, lounging down from the house with his hands in his pockets, and invited himself along.

‘I’m bored,’ he said, in a careless way that Bolin, at least, took to mean ‘I’m lonely.’

‘Sure,’ Bolin said. ‘Hop in the back.’

‘Will do,’ said Tahno, slinging himself into the back seat. He sprawled there, all lanky legs and arms, and criticised Bolin’s efforts to start the car and put it in gear until Asami leaned over and pulled his nose.

It got better from there, though. He made his way through the broad, orderly streets of Asami’s neighbourhood with minimal stalling, and stayed on the right side of the road and everything.

‘You’re doing so good,’ she said warmly. ‘Try not to tense up. Your arms and neck look really stiff.’

‘It’s just freaking me out that I’m responsible for this huge _thing_ that runs on _explosions,’_ he protested, making a tightly controlled left turn, his knuckles starting to ache from their grip on the wheel. 

‘And it costs more money than you’ve ever seen,’ Tahno observed helpfully.

‘Shush, you. You’re doing great, Bolin. Remember, let the wheel slide through your hands so you can keep them at ten and two. Okay, honey, pull over there by the hydrant and stop. Great! Parking brake on,’ she added. ‘I’ll take over.’

Asami crawled over to the driver’s side while Bolin slid across the bench seat under her. For a moment her bottom was directly in front of his face, and even in grubby overalls it was kind of jaw-dropping.

She dropped into the driver’s seat and settled in happily, looking as much at home behind the wheel as she always did. ‘Sit tight, boys, and I’ll take you for a spin. In fact, you know what? We’ll stop for some food and make it a picnic.’

Stopping for some food meant picking up a hamper at a fancy little grocery store, after which she took off for the hills, driving at exhilarating speeds, her mouth stretched in a fierce, gleeful grin. Tahno straightened up and let the wind whip through his hair, and Bolin followed Asami’s lead, draping one elbow over the windowsill, then sliding the palm of his hand down onto the metal of the door, feeling it through its skin of paint, vibrating with the thrum of the big engine. He was nowhere near understanding it, but this felt better than the sleek polished wood of the steering wheel. He glanced over at Asami just as she looked his way, and his own smile broadened. 

Asami drove well away from the city, until the road petered out in a gravelly area above a small bay, a scoop of white sand between spurs of knobbly grey rocks. She parked, got out, and began clambering down the scrubby slope to the bay. Bolin grabbed the hamper and followed, and Tahno, less enthusiastically, did the same. 

‘What’re we heading down here for?’ he called as he slid down a bit of scree in a scatter of pebbles. 

‘Adventure,’ Asami called back, ‘and snacks.’ She reached the sand and ran forward, throwing her arms out in the air. 

‘Works for me,’ Bolin said. He set the hamper on a driftwood log and chased after her.

‘Yeah, no,’ said Tahno, reaching the bottom and picking his way to sit on the log. 

‘Suit yourself!’ Asami cried. ‘I’m feeling free! Gotta run around!’ She snatched the scarf out of her hair and let it stream loose as she pelted across the damp sand near the water, doubled back past Bolin and made for the rocks at the nearer end of the bay. ‘Bo! Help me look in rock pools. I want to find a crab.’ Her cheeks were flushed and her curls were tumbled, tangling over her shoulder.

‘Right!’ He scrambled up beside her and balanced on two big stones, hands on his knees as he bent forward. There were many pools, big and small, where water was trapped in crevices of the rocks. They were full of tiny life, weeds and anemones and minuscule scudding fish. He was distracted by Asami being all beautiful and quick-breathing and near, but the lady wanted a crab, so he concentrated on finding a crab. They moved like crabs themselves, crouching and sidling from one pool to another, pointing out their finds to each other, a stone with a hole in it, or a purple sea anemone.

They found plenty of crabs, little grey-green ones, slate-blue ones, finally a beautiful orange one half the size of Asami’s palm. Then Bolin spotted the hermit crab whose shell was a wave-smoothed broken bottleneck, its metal cap still in place. They crouched side by side like children and stared at it wobbling along the sandy floor of one of the largest pools, its insides fascinatingly visible. Asami’s leg was pressed against Bolin’s from knee to hip, and she smelled of motor oil and perfume and warm sweaty girl. Her lower lip was caught under her front teeth as she gazed at the crab, which, after all, was not what Bolin was really watching. 

‘Are you dorks done yet?’ Tahno called out from the log. 

‘Just done,’ Asami said. She turned to look at Bolin, her eyes twinkling, telling him they were in something together. Well, he supposed they had been for a long time, since that first secret talk under the moonlight, but here was another little memory for them, and this time it had the warmth of the late afternoon sun on their backs. 

They made their way back across the sand, and Asami announced that they were building a fire. Tahno grumbled, but shifted himself to gather weathered scraps of wood while Bolin rolled stones into a circle. Asami had matches, and they managed to start a little blaze over which they toasted meatballs and little tinned fish from the hamper. They ate with their fingers and eager appetites, although Tahno had certainly not done enough to work his up. Then, as the sun sank and the sky reddened, they sat with their backs against the big log eating chocolate and sipping sweet tea.

If Tahno had not been there, would he and Asami be kissing by now? Tangled up in each other’s arms, hands diving inside clothes, warm and panting and hard and wet? He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. It would be wrong if they were, no matter what Lin said about being happy to share, no matter how incredibly good it would feel, with Asami’s slim legs wrapped around his hips and her soft breasts pressed to his chest and how did this get back around to the front of his mind?

The red had gone out of the sky now and the moon appeared over the water, an incredible moon, huge and silvery and looking close enough to touch. 

‘There’s a princess on the moon,’ Asami said dreamily, and tilted her head sideways to rest on Bolin’s shoulder. He decided not to wrap his arm around her, because he didn’t entirely trust himself not to be a dumbass. 

‘Pfft,’ went Tahno. ‘That sappy old story.’

‘It’s a beautiful story,’ Asami said.

‘Yeah, well I like the part where Aang turns into a glowing fish monster better,’ Tahno said. 

‘Think how brave Princess Yue had to be,’ Bolin mused. ‘Giving up her life when she was so young.’

‘So correct me if I’m wrong, but she died a virgin, right? Heck of a waste.’

‘I guess so,’ Asami said. ‘I mean, she was engaged to be married. Then she met Sokka, and fell in love with him. But they didn’t have long together, and yes, they were very young.’

‘Not too young,’ Tahno said. ‘Sokka should’ve gone for it.’ He shrugged, and Bolin felt the motion through his other shoulder. ‘If he loved her.’

‘Well, maybe they didn’t get a chance,’ Asami said. ‘Never the right time or place. Always other people there, or something happening. And maybe they just didn’t feel ready.’

‘She’s still beautiful,’ Bolin said, trying to get away from the subject of sex. There was a broad, shining path of silver on the water leading to the horizon, looking just as if you could walk out along it and reach the moon, and meet the princess, too.

‘They tell us the moon was the first waterbender, too,’ Tahno said. ‘Bunch of old hooey if you ask me.’ He picked up a pebble and threw it, though it didn’t reach the water.

‘Yue’s not hooey,’ Asami pointed out, quietly. ‘There are people alive today who witnessed her ascension.’

‘So why doesn’t she fly down here like a good moon princess and magic back my bending?’ Tahno asked bitterly. ‘Then she’d be some use.’

‘Have you asked her to?’ Asami asked. They were all quiet for a moment. Under a moon like that, it didn’t sound silly. 

‘She wouldn’t,’ Tahno said, with less than total conviction. 

‘Let’s ask her. Really.’ Asami got to her feet and stepped around Bolin’s legs to offer her hand to Tahno. ‘Come on - what can it hurt?’

Bolin expected a brush-off from Tahno, but after a long moment he reached up and took Asami’s hand. She offered the other to Bolin, and the three of them walked down to the water’s edge, where tiny lace-edged waves rippled onto the ribbed sand.

‘How do we do this?’ Bolin whispered. 

‘Put your hands together,’ Asami said, as if she were the expert. They did, standing in puddles of vague moonshadow. ‘Just… be polite, Tahno.’ 

Tahno cleared his throat. When he spoke, he sounded self-conscious, but sincere. ‘Princess Yue,’ he said. ‘Your Highness. Can you help me? Please? My bending was stolen. I need it back. I really - need it back. So please? Help me?’ He hesitated, then kicked off his shoes and waded into the water, ankle deep. ‘Please help me, Princess.’ He stood still. 

Everything was very, very quiet. They could hear water lapping on sand and against stones. Asami shifted a little closer to Bolin. He wanted to take her hand, but it seemed wrong to take them out of this praying gesture. He thought nothing was going to happen, that after all, miracles and magic didn’t happen right in front of you like in the olden days, and then he saw the white figure walking down the silver path on the water.

Yue still looked like a young girl, wrapped in floating silvery garments. Her eyes were wide and blue, her skin was a soft brown, and her hair was an eerie glowing white.  She walked towards them, straight-backed and graceful. When she drew nearer, they could see that her bare feet hovered a little way above the water. Now she was in front of them, close enough to touch, and she bent to look into Tahno’s face. 

Bolin wished he were alongside them, so that he could see more than Tahno’s back. From the sound of his hitching breathing, he might be crying. Yue placed her hands on either side of Tahno’s head, and leaning in, pressed a kiss on his forehead. She drew back and dropped her hands to her sides, and then smiled, her head tilting to one side. Then, somehow, she grew thin, transparent, fading back towards the moon, until she was gone. 

Tahno was still breathing hoarsely, and he gave a great sniffing gulp and raised his arm to wipe his face on his sleeve. 

‘That was a real thing,’ Bolin breathed. ‘A real spirity thing.’ He realised his own eyes and cheeks were wet, and when he turned to look at Asami, she was weeping too, although her lips smiled. ‘Are you okay, Tahno?’

‘I have to see,’ Tahno replied shakily. His feet rustling in the cold water, he took up a waterbender’s stance, his arms flowing.

A slender serpent of water rose from the surface of the bay and curved in front of him before splashing back down. 

There was a moment’s stillness, and then Tahno drew in a huge breath and screamed for joy. With the echoes still ringing around the little cove, he ran forward, crashing into the water. Now he was riding the crest of a surge, rushing out towards the moon, breaking up its silver path. He shot himself into the air with a waterspout, spun and flipped and splashed down, raising spray as white as Yue’s floating hair. 

While Tahno planed across the surface of the bay, Bolin and Asami capered on the wet sand, shouting encouragement and cheers, waving their arms. On an impulse, he grabbed her round the waist, lifted her off her feet and twirled the two of them round and round, both laughing wildly. He stopped the spinning before they could get too giddy, and she slid down against him, her hands on his shoulders. Kissing her wasn’t really a conscious decision, and she met him with so much warmth that they tightened their arms around each other reflexively. Her lipstick felt buttery against his lips, and she tasted of chocolate and salt. She made a little sound in her throat, too soft for a grunt and too short for a moan, and a rush of heat shot through his body. Lin concentrated on his lower lip when she kissed him, sucking it or biting it, but Asami’s kiss was centred on his top lip, and… oh. Lin. He drew back, and she stumbled and took a step away from him. 

They might have said or done something to make matters better or worse, but they were interrupted by a drenching shower of spray thrown up as Tahno skidded in to the shore. He flung his arms around their necks and hooted. 

‘I’m _back!’_ he yelled. ‘You’re all wet! Not for long!’ He swung his arms away and drew all the water from their soaked, clinging clothes and streaming hair, flinging it back towards the sea. ‘Tahno’s back, baby!’ He seized Asami, kissed her hard, and before she had time to protest, did the same to Bolin. ‘I’ve got my _life_ back!’


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Presenting the début of Miss Asami Sato. And some other stuff.

Both Bolin and Asami were quiet on the ride back to town, partly because Tahno was talking enough for three people, projecting how his life was going to rocket back to the heights now he had his bending back. The fact that pro bending hadn’t started up again didn’t seem to worry him, and to be fair, there were a lot of jobs he could go into with those skills. He waxed rhapsodic on how the fly honeys would once again flock to him, and he would keep four or five girls on the string.

‘The dry spell is _over!_ Ladies, prepare to get _wet!’_ he crowed, and Bolin and Asami exchanged a roll of the eyes.

Bolin was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to get him to go to bed, but he went willingly enough, having subsided in the later stages of the drive from maniacally happy to more restfully cheerful. He hugged them each several times before going to his room, and goosed Bolin in a disconcerting fashion. 

‘Well, I guess I’d better get home,’ he said, as Tahno’s footsteps faded and he tried to de-wedge his underwear without being too obvious about it.

‘It’s pretty late,’ Asami said, yawning behind her hand. ‘Why not stay? Just call home so Mako doesn’t worry.’

‘Oh. Okay. Thanks.’ There was a moment of uncertain potential before Asami said ‘Good night, then,’ and headed rather hastily for her own room.

When Bolin used the phone he was surprised and slightly encouraged to hear that Mako wasn’t home, being out on an actual date with Korra. He left his message with Pema and made for the guest bathroom he knew best. However, he could hear through the door that Tahno was having some kind of bathtub-based pleasure extravaganza in there, and had to scout for another one where he had a pee and a quick wash before finding a bedroom to crash in. 

He lay between crisp, smooth sheets, replaying the kiss in his mind, those soft butter-smooth lips and the way her breasts had pressed and slid against his chest as he lowered her to her feet, the smell of her skin and her hair, overlaid with wood-smoke and sea-salt and engine-oil. It made him achingly hard, and even the guilt of feeling like a cheater, again, didn’t diminish that. He fantasised another kiss and another, erasing Tahno from the scene, sliding his hands down to cup Asami’s bottom, lifting her up to cling with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, their hips rocking together as their tongues surged, and then the whole picture slipped horizontal and he was inside her, rolling into her, and she made that little throat-sound on each inward stroke, and they came perfectly together.

It seemed incredibly rude to be masturbating in a guest bed, but he just couldn’t stop himself, especially after the thought occurred of Asami needing to do the same thing, lying in her princess bed with her lace-edged nightie pulled up over her silky breasts, her slim strong fingers sliding and surging between her wet lips, wanting him there, her perfect rosy mouth opening in sighs and gasps. He caught his mess in his hand, and after a moment’s thought about what the heck to do with it, set against his general reluctance to move from the bed, just licked it off his palm and swallowed it. More salt. A salty day, generally. 

He grew calmer, and although his body felt blissfully, heavily good, the guilt came back, as well as a certain feeling of just… tired contempt for himself. He was so _dumb._ Horny and dumb. Was this going to be a lifelong condition, or would he grow out of it?

He fell asleep, dreamed of being the dumb, joyful meat in a Lin-and-Asami sandwich, making both women come again and again, being called their sweet, sweet baby, totally embraced in their desire and love, and woke up to realise he would need to rinse a sheet in the bathroom sink.

 

On Sunday he went to Lin’s house for lessons, and as they lay in bed, their upper bodies apart to catch their breath, but their legs still tangled together, he confessed about the kiss. 

‘Was it a _good_ kiss?’ she asked. 

‘Uh-huh.’ He nodded, his cheek rubbing against the sweat-damp pillow.

‘Did she want it too?’

‘She kissed back. So I think so.’

‘Good.’ Lin stroked his hair back from his forehead, her eyes smiling faintly. ‘My little sex-bomb. Sifu’s proud of you.’

‘You are seriously so weird.’ He laid his hand over hers to hold it to his cheek. ‘Are we good?’

‘We’re good. Kiss her as much as you want to. Want me to write her a note? Give you two my blessing?’ Her smile turned teasing. ‘Tell her some of the things she might want to get you to do. Dear Miss Sato, feel free to kiss my Bolin, and be sure to have him lick your pussy.’

‘Li-in!’ His eyebrows crumpled together in consternation.

‘It’s okay, baby, I won’t embarrass you. Except here in private, because you’re so cute when I do.’ She pinched his cheek gently.

‘I don’t know how I can tell her that, though. Isn’t it just going to sound like a lie a jerk made up to get what he wants? Yeah, sugar, it’s okay, my other girlfriend says we can hook up?’

‘I know it’s not common in the teen dating scene, but believe me, mature people do sometimes have these arrangements. It’s not right for everyone, obviously. You don’t have to try it if it makes you feel bad.’

‘The problem is it would feel so _good._ And one person doesn’t deserve all _that.’_

‘Says who? You think you deserve what I give you? I just give you this because it makes me happy, and I care enough for you that seeing you happy makes it even better. You didn’t ever earn it. If Asami wants to be with you it won’t be because you earned that either. It’s a gift, not a payment.’ Lin snuggled closer to him, resting her forehead against his. ‘And you give a lot back. You’ve got a big strong body and a sweet honest heart.’

‘And a dumb, muddled brain.’

‘It’s just got growing pains.’ She nuzzled in and kissed his lips.

‘Lin… I love you.’

‘I know, baby.’ Another soft kiss. ‘I love you back.’

‘You do?’

‘Sure I do.’

‘Mmm.’ He pulled her into his arms and pressed a deep kiss into her mouth, his tear ducts stinging. ‘I love you… love you...’ And he repeated it with each kiss, and each stroke, and each thrust, until it had stopped being words and was just a sound he whimpered as he came and sank into sweet darkness. 

 

He wasn’t ready to talk to Asami about it yet, though.  He tried to buckle down and concentrate on work and study. He ground mathematics into his head until at least some of it stuck there, and he got better at his job. He helped Tahno, who had found a job doing waterblasting, to buy some things and move from Asami’s guest room to a tiny apartment, and then he helped Asami to choose what to pack and what to store or sell or give away, and to move into a much larger and very nice apartment in the city. The whole time, by mutual and unspoken assent, they behaved like close friends who definitely did not masturbate to fantasies of each other, or to fantasies of the other masturbating to fantasies of themselves. 

The closest they came to anything intimate was the afternoon of moving-in day, when, after working himself into a lather of perspiration hauling all Asami’s boxes and cases up to the new apartment, he took a shower in the new bathroom, and she kept talking to him through the door, cracked ajar, about where she was going to put the things she was unpacking. It gave him an erection that would not subside for anything short of a finger in his ass and a furious rubbing of his cock. He knew he was taking too long for an ordinary shower, and he felt as if she must realise, and he imagined that it was making her wet, and that finished him. 

He came out of the bathroom fully dressed, damp-haired and sheepish, and found her innocently hanging windchimes.

_You need to stop that,_ he told himself as he moved the couch and chairs in the living room into different arrangements, as she directed. _You don’t know how she feels and come on, she’s talked about_ dating, _not about diving into bed. Don’t go assuming she’s as horny as you or Lin because she gave you one kiss._

He worked steadily, and sometimes went out for noodles after work with Rika, and played with the Air kids and Pabu, and tested the proposition that meditation could take your mind off your body’s insane dance of the hormones.

It certainly did while he was doing it, although it made no difference to how he felt the rest of the time. He sat on his bed, or on the floor, with a piece of metal between his hands, and breathing deep and slow, slipped into it in his mind. He tried as many different kinds as he could get his hands on, in different forms; a tin can from the kitchen, a gold earring borrowed from Pema, a twist of copper wire, an aluminium plate. He went deep into their structures, felt their strengths and weaknesses, how they could be made to bend and move. He admired how beautiful and weird and ancient they were. More and more, when he worked with iron, he also felt the iron in his blood, smoothly coursing. 

He meant nothing by it when he let his focus shift from the iron in his hands to the iron inside his hands, helping take oxygen to the tips of his fingers, then pulsing back towards his heart. It was just interesting. It was _neat._ His awareness travelled through his body with that pulse of blood, and for a long time he was rapt, going on a tour through tissues he could never see alive, would never see unless something was terribly wrong. Some of it, honestly, was gross. He was glad smell wasn’t an issue as he visited his gut, but still, how cool, to be able to really see the nourishment from his dinner entering his blood and fuelling his cells. He would have stayed all night if Pabu hadn’t nudged him out of his trance, jumping into his lap for a cuddle. 

Each time he did it, he came out feeling more deeply grounded in his body. Before, he wouldn’t have thought that possible; he was totally comfortable with his body, loved it and its strength. It wasn’t distracting or intrusive, but it was a new level of physical awareness that seemed to make life more vivid and rich. Food tasted better, the air he drew into his lungs seemed fresher and more enlivening, and the pleasure and satisfaction of sex deepened further still. Lin laughed softly and kissed his eyebrows as he tried to explain to her what it was like, and said ‘I know, baby, I’ve felt it too.’ 

She admitted, though, that she had only felt what he was describing for short times during very deep meditation. It had faded quickly after that, while for Bolin it lingered for hours. 

‘You’ve got something very special there. A talent like my mother’s, maybe.’ She told him this as they rested on the bench after a metalbending drill. 

‘She used her talent to invent metalbending, though, and mine just seems to be about making me feel really good.’

‘Oh, it intensifies _everything,_ not just the good stuff. You’ve been lucky so far. Wait till you stub your toe or get a cramp while you’re in that state. Anyway, we don’t know what you may do with it. My baby might be an inventor.’

He doubted it. He assumed inventors had _plans,_ were _trying_ to invent things, came up against a challenge and had to come up with some way to surmount it. Toph Beifong was an inventor, Asami’s dad had been an inventor, and he was just a guy goofing around and exploring. 

He came out of his trance one evening and lay on his bed, enjoying the ebb and flow of his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest, the pulses in his wrists and neck and chest. The sheer sensual pleasure of having a body, healthy and strong and whole, flowed through him. He thought fondly of every little trace of iron that let him feel this way. There they were, all rushing through his body to keep him going, his little microscopic buddies. In a little while, he’d probably masturbate, a nice slow, gentle jack-off that would leave him with an afterglow stronger and sweeter than this. The blood would surge into his cock to plump it up and make it hard and red. _Thank you, little buddies!_ As he relaxed afterwards it would flow gently away, leaving just enough circulating to keep it soft and pink. _Back to work, little buddies, hope you enjoyed that too._

He drifted back into a near-trance, feeling the blood flow, drowsing in its warm tide. _Hi, little buddies. Some of you want to head down to my dick? Yeah, you do. Ha, I bet I could whizz you down there if I thought about it right._

His eyelids flew open and he drew in a sharp, cold breath. _I bet I could._

His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he sat up. Pabu, who had been nestled beside him, grumped and rolled away. 

Out of some kind of modesty, he tried it in his hand first. He found that right way of thinking, of moving, and watched his fingertips grow red, then purple, as if he had fastened rubber bands around them. It hurt, more so because of his post-trance state. He relaxed and let the blood resume its normal course. Like scooping water up with a load of earth, moving water without actually waterbending. He was short of breath, and he felt giddy and terribly, terribly guilty. He was breaking the law, sitting here on his bed. 

He pulled the blood _out_ of his fingers, saw them grow yellowish-white, let it flow back and grunted at an agony of pins and needles.

Then, because it was what he had first thought of, and because a kind of morbid fascination meant that he had to see if it could be done, although he had never felt less sexy in his life, he undid the drawstring in his pyjama pants, lowered his waistband and made his cock stiffen and stand. He boggled at it and let it drop, then covered up quickly.

_I did not just bloodbend. No I didn’t. I’m going to sleep now!_

He tried, curled up tight as a nut under his blankets, but there was no way it would work. In the middle of the night, he gave up the struggle, found his shoes and a coat, since the night air was chilly, and shuffled over to the girls’ side of the building. He knew which was Korra’s room because he’d seen her hop in through the window to fetch something rather than go round to the door and through the corridor. It was open a crack to admit fresh air, and he pushed his nose and lips into the gap and whispered ‘Korra? Korra, are you awake?’

There was silence, so he tried again. ‘Psst, Korra, it’s Bolin.’ This time he heard a startled intake of breath, movement, and then another sharp breath, as if someone were startled twice. 

No, of course not, and he was a dumbass, because he could hear two people moving in bed, and Mako’s voice whispered ‘Here’s your pants.’ A few moments later, Korra, hastily dressed, pushed the window further open and waved him in.

She lit a candle with a flick from her fingers and placed it on the nightstand. Bolin squinted in the light and saw Mako, sitting up in bed with his chest bare. It didn’t take a genius, but with his sense of smell as sharp as it was right now, there was no misunderstanding what they’d been doing before they fell asleep. His face heated up and he almost forgot what he’d come to say in his embarrassment. 

‘What is it, Bo?’ Korra asked, her voice husky with sleep. ‘You okay?’

‘Did you have a bad dream?’ Mako asked, rubbing the heel of one hand against his eye. 

‘No. I - I had to come and tell you, because you’re the Avatar. I mean, you’ve got to decide what to do with me. I’m really sorry. I haven’t hurt anyone.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Korra asked. She sat down on the bed beside Mako and leaned back against him.

‘Don’t freak out. I was bloodbending.’

Korra looked at him blankly, but Mako relaxed. ‘You _were_ having a bad dream. It’s okay, Bo, you were just confused when you woke up. Everything’s fine. Go back to bed.’

‘I’m not dreaming!’ Bolin whispered frantically. ‘I haven’t been to sleep all night. I’m not bloodbending with water, I’m bloodbending with iron. I didn’t realise it was going that way or I would have stopped before I figured out how to do it, but now I _have_ and I can’t get rid of it.’

Slowly, Korra leaned forward again and rested her elbows on her knees. ‘Can you show us?’ she asked. 

‘Look at my hand.’ It was harder with them watching him, but he couldn’t forget how it felt or how to make it happen again. He made the fingertips redden and swell, then drew the blood back to whiten them. ‘I worked it out while I was meditating,’ he said wretchedly. ‘Do you have to take my bending away?’

‘What? No. I don’t even know how to do that.’ Korra took hold of his hand and examined it on both sides. Her hands, like his, were trembling. 

‘The fact that you can do something weird with your own blood doesn’t mean you’re a bloodbender,’ Mako said. ‘You’re not doing it to other people. You probably can’t even.’ He put his hand on Bolin’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring rub.

‘We have to find out if you _can,’_ Korra said. ‘Abilities you don’t understand are dangerous.’

‘I say leave well enough alone,’ Mako argued. ‘If he never does it, there’s no harm. Bo, you haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘Try it on me,’ Korra said, holding out her hand and steadying it with an effort. ‘Can you make my hand move?’

‘I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘I’ll tell you if you do. Maybe it won’t hurt. If I’m not fighting you.’ Her eyes looked wide and dark.

‘Listen to me, both of you, don’t do this.’ 

‘We have to _know,_ Mako,’ Korra said tightly.

‘I’m sorry,’ Bolin said, looking up at his brother. ‘But we do.’ He took a deep breath, let it out, and felt for the iron in Korra’s blood. 

There it was. It felt subtly different from his own, in the same way as, that deep breath had unwelcomely reminded him, the smell of Korra’s arousal, wafting from the bedsheets, was like Lin’s but different. Different person, different chi, something like that.

He moved his own hand in the air, and slowly, draggingly, Korra’s moved to follow it. She stared at it in shock. 

‘That’s how it feels,’ she murmured.

‘I’m sorry,’ Bolin babbled, letting the control drop. ‘I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Does it hurt?’

‘It’s okay,’ she said, drawing her hand in to her chest protectively. ‘No pain. Just… that feeling of your body being moved by someone else. It’s… not good.’

‘I’ll never do it again,’ he promised.

‘Damn right you won’t,’ Mako said, putting his arm around Korra. ‘That would be crazy. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it, the more dangerous you’ll be. Right now this is just… it’s a weird little thing, it’s no threat to anyone, it’s not breaking the law. You’re never going to use it. We’re okay.’

‘Mako’s right,’ Korra said, nodding. ‘This stays between us. Just leave it alone, Bo, and you’ll be safe. And listen… I could never take your bending, or… put you in jail, or anything like that. You’re my friend. Okay?’

‘Okay.’ Bolin felt a little relief, but he didn’t really feel safe. There was no forgetting or undoing what he’d learned to do. 

‘Hey, come here.’ She leaned in and hugged him. ‘All good.’

Mako patted his shoulder again. ‘I’d hug you too,’ he said, ‘but, you know, nudity.’

‘Yeah. Thanks. Uh. Good night.’ He turned back to the window. ‘Oh. Uh, I guess, congratulations. With the, uh, your stuff! Together! I’m going right now.’ He scrambled out and hurried back to his room. 

Telling had eased the guilt and fear enough for him to sleep, but he woke up feeling grungy and unwell.  He went to work as normal, but he was in a daze and his workmates teased him for being so dopey. He couldn’t stick to what Korra and Mako had said. He would never use bloodbending, that was for sure, it was far too weird and distressing, but he couldn’t keep it a total secret. At quitting time, he washed the grime from his hands and face and went up to Asami’s office, where he had to ask the secretary to tell her he was there. He stood, because he didn’t want to sit on the nice waiting couch in his grubby overalls, rubbing his elbow and feeling really working class, until he got the nod to go in. 

Asami was at her desk, working on something in a big ledger. ‘Hey,’ she said, looking up and smiling as he entered. ‘I won’t be finished here for a while, but if you want to hang out you can go to my place ahead of me. Wei’ll let you in.’

‘I really wanted to talk to you,’ he said. ‘It’s about a… a problem.’

Asami got up and came around the desk, reaching out to rest her hands on his arms. ‘What is it, honey?’ She called him that sometimes, usually when she was trying to take care of him somehow. He got a lot of ‘honey’ during driving lessons, especially when he was doing badly.

‘No-one can hear us in here, right? I really need this to stay one hundred percent private.’

‘Of course. Come and sit down.’

He perched his butt on the edge of her desk, while she sat in her big swivelly chair, and told her about the bloodbending, with certain obvious edits around the whole playing-with-his-dick element. She listened, gravely, nodding her head and patting his arm from time to time.

‘And I just… I wanted to tell you.’

‘I’m glad you want to tell me when weird stuff happens to you,’ Asami said with a little smile. ‘What did Lin say?’

‘I haven’t talked to her yet.’

‘But she’s the best person to help you with this.’

‘I know. But… you make me feel better. Sorry if I’m being selfish.’

‘No. I like hearing that.’ She got up and leaned against the desk beside him, nudging in close and resting her head on his shoulder. 

‘You’re not creeped out by me now, then.’

‘Nah. You’re not very creepy.’ She took hold of his hand and squeezed it. ‘I have faith that you’ll do the right thing with this. You won’t hurt anyone. You might even find a way to make it good.’

‘See what I mean about making me feel better?’ He squeezed back, gently, and rubbed his cheek on her hair. 

‘Bo, I think you should go see Lin this evening and tell her all about this. She can help you put it in perspective.’

‘She can arrest me,’ he said glumly. 

‘Oh come on. It’s not against the law to be _able_ to bloodbend. I’m _able_ to steal.’ Asami nudged him with her hip. ‘Doesn’t make me a thief. You know, I’ve been working too hard lately?’

‘Oh?’

‘So you could get me back for listening to your problem. You could be a really nice friend and hang out with me tomorrow night. Friday.’

‘Yeah, sure.’

‘Let’s go out and get dinner, my treat.’ She gave his hand a final squeeze and straightened up. ‘You can tell me what Lin said, if you want to.’

 

He told Lin the whole thing, dick and all, because it wasn’t as if that would bring a blush to her cheek. She took it calmly, but she stopped eating her dinner and interrogated him until she was sure of every detail. 

‘Is that okay?’ he asked, pleadingly. ‘Am I going to be in trouble?’

‘Not from me,’ she said, and took a bite of cold rice. ‘I’d like to see you do it.’

‘Really? I mean… it’s illegal.’

‘We’ll call this an experiment under controlled conditions. Come on.’

She led him to the gym, where he demonstrated first with his hand, then with hers. She frowned thoughtfully. ‘You’re not that good at it.’

‘I just figured out how to do this. I’m not exactly an expert.’

‘You’re _the_ expert. This is your technique that you invented. You’d better _get_ good.’

‘But isn’t that more dangerous? Mako said...’

‘Yes, you said. But I’m your teacher. I’m not going to let you waste this, and I know enough about your character to be sure you’re not going to misuse it. Do you know how few people have developed new forms of bending? This isn’t on my mother’s level,’ she added, before he could get a swelled head. ‘She figured out how to do something impossible, whereas you figured out how to do something we already knew was possible in a completely different way. Still, this is a very big thing, Bolin, and I didn’t teach you to turn your back on a discovery. Besides, if I study how you’re doing it, I may be able to upskill myself.’ She gave him a wry smile. ‘Come on, Sifu Bolin.’

They worked on it together for hours, Lin’s experience and knowledge filling in the gaps of his discovery and inspiration. By the time they went to bed, exhausted, Lin had mastered the fingertip trick, and Bolin, although he shrank at first from trying to do it, could take control of her arms and legs and make her walk. 

‘Don’t be afraid to do it,’ she coached him. ‘It’s not like it’s the first time or way you’ve been inside me. You know I trust you with my body.’

‘I don’t want to _hurt_ you.’ Flinching, he lifted her arm, as gently as he could. 

‘It doesn’t hurt. It’ll only hurt if I tense up and fight you. I’m kind of liking it.’

‘Korra didn’t.’

‘Well, you don’t have our kind of relationship with Korra, do you now? Come on, kid, you can do better than that. Push like you mean it.’

In bed he clung to her like a security blanket.

‘You’re kind of upset, aren’t you, baby?’

‘No kidding,’ he mumbled against her chest. ‘I never felt this dangerous before.’

‘Sweet thing, you are not dangerous. Any more than you always were, solid muscle and throwing rocks bigger than you are. Pull yourself together. I’m not good at this comforting-mommy stuff.’

‘I don’t need you to say comforting stuff… but please hold onto me, just like this.’

‘You got it.’ Her arms were strong around him in the dark, and her heart beat steadily under his cheek, lulling him to sleep.

 

The next day, after work, he had to go all the way home to get cleaned up and dressed in his good suit, then back uptown to meet Asami at her apartment. There were times when it did seem like a little place of his own would be useful. 

‘Are you going out?’ Meelo asked, crouching on a stool and staring at him as he combed his hair. 

‘Yep.’

‘On a daaaaate?’

‘I’m just meeting a friend. You know, Asami, she stayed here before.’

‘Oh, the beautiful lady.’ Meelo picked his nose thoughtfully. ‘Could you get me some of her hair?’

‘What do you even - no. No, seriously, you have no hair of your own, just deal with it.’ He twisted his kiss-curl round one fingertip and arranged it to his liking.

‘You want to look pretty for her, right?’

‘Look good to feel good, kiddo.’ He twirled his comb between his fingers and slotted it into his inside pocket. ‘You wanna take care of Pabu for me while I’m out?’

‘Can I put clothes on him?’

‘Only with his consent.’

 

Either Asami wanted to feel outstandingly good, or she had made an effort to look pretty for him. She was still getting ready when Wei let him into the apartment and disappeared back to his own little lair. He sat on the couch leafing through a magazine until she appeared from her bedroom. She was wearing a red dress, which was nothing surprising; it was her favourite colour. It looked silky, sleeveless with a deep V neck and a drop waist about halfway down her thigh, beneath which it swirled loosely around her knees. Little glistening red beads shimmered down the length of her body and swung gently as she moved. She had a matching bandeau in her hair and gold teardrops hanging from her ears.

‘Ta-daa,’ she said, giving a twirl and showing that the back of the dress was a deeper V, displaying the smooth line of her spine. ‘I decided to dress up.’

‘You look _great._ Seriously. Aren’t you going to be cold?’

‘That’s what coats are for,’ she said, dipping back into her room for a beaded clutch bag. ‘And heated restaurants. I’m starving.’

‘Your coat, my lady?’ He hurried into the hall and took it from the coatrack, holding it out for her to thread her bare arms into the silk-lined sleeves. 

‘Thanks,’ she said, wrapping it closed and snuggling the furry collar against her cheek. ‘Wei,’ she called out. ‘I’m going out now. No need to sit up, I’ve got my key. Come on,’ she continued, hooking her hand through Bolin’s elbow, ‘let’s go and have fun.’

_I think Asami just sprung a date on me,_ he marvelled as they rode the elevator down. _Like, a booby-date. Well, no, I shouldn’t assume that just because she looks hotter than the surface of the sun. Or because the thought of all that bare skin inside her coat is giving me a chubby._

Asami drove them downtown. Bolin was expecting a tony restaurant, if not actually a snooty one, but she brought them to a small place where the tables were arranged around a dance floor. On a dais, a small jazz band was setting up. The food wasn’t fancy, but it was tasty, and they told each other stories with a total ban on anything serious. The band warmed up and began to play in earnest, and couples moved onto the floor. 

‘Do you want to dance?’ Asami asked. ‘Because I’m going to, and it would be more fun with you.’

‘Don’t mind if I do.’ They didn’t dance only with each other, because, understandably, a lot of guys wanted to dance with Asami and she seemed happy to give them a chance, but they came back to each other every few songs. The room grew positively hot, and Bolin stripped off his jacket and threw it over his chair before returning to the floor. His current dance partner grabbed his chin and forced his face around to look at her. 

‘Sorry. Watching my - my friend.’ He knew he’d been rude, staring at Asami. Her partner kept picking her up and swinging her through the air, so her hair and her skirt and her beads whirled out. She was laughing, he could hear it over the music. 

‘Oh, come on.’ She towed him over to Asami and her guy and tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Switch off? This guy’s dancing with _her_ in his head.’

‘No prob, Bob,’ said the other fellow, and spun her away, leaving him with Asami, who put her hands on her hips and shook her head at him, grinning. Her face was glowing with warmth, little wet tendrils clinging and curling around her hairline. 

‘Come on!’ She grabbed his hands as a new number began, and they pulled close together. The rhythm of the song was fast and frantic, and Asami seemed to have an electric charge running through her, shimmying and swirling, her hips swishing from side to side, feet flying, swinging away to the limit of their joined hands and back in to press against him. Bolin kept up with her, just, breathless and beaming, until he had to beg her for a rest. When they got back to their table someone had stolen one of the chairs.

‘No problem,’ said Asami, pushing Bolin to sit down and then depositing herself in his lap. She was breathing fast, her breasts rising and falling level with his face. He saw a drop of sweat run down the slope of her cleavage and disappear inside her dress. She looked down at his staring face and began to giggle.

‘Sorry. I didn’t think. Here! Have a face full of my boobs!’ She twisted round to put her back against his chest, although now her hair hung into his face and the swivelling motion of her bottom had taken him from sudden alarming semi to trapped full erection.

_Please don’t feel that. Unless you want to feel that. In which case I hope it feels really good._ He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist to keep her from slipping off his lap and hid his burning face in her hair. 

‘Asami,’ he said, muffled. ‘This turned into a date, didn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ she said, with a deep inhalation and exhalation, her back sagging slightly against him. ‘Would you believe me if I said I didn’t plan it this way? That I really just thought we’d have a good time as friends?’

‘Really _really?’_

‘Maybe not… I mean, I was trying to convince myself. I guess.’ She put one hand over his, folded over her tummy. ‘I really try to be good, you know? I tell myself, don’t make a move until he shows you or tells you he’s definitely ready. Because it’s complicated. But I just… I want to be with you so much by now, and… why _are_ we waiting? It’s okay with her. I’ve decided it’s okay with me. Is it okay with you?’

‘It’s so okay with me.’

‘Can we go? For a drive, somewhere quiet, so we can talk properly?’

‘Mm.’ He nuzzled through her hair and kissed her bare back, and felt her shiver.

She drove them back out to the lookout point with the Kyoshi shrine. They drove in silence, the radio playing, Bolin valiantly keeping his hands to himself and not distracting the driver. The anticipation was like being drunk, a heady feeling he associated with Lin, but he wanted to offer it to Asami and revel in it together.

She parked the car, leaving the headlights on, shining out over the choppy sea. Bolin slid eagerly over towards her, slipping his arm around her shoulders. She put her hand against his chest.

‘I really want to talk.’

‘Okay...’ He drew back.

‘You can hold me. I’d _love_ you to hold me. I just need you to keep listening.’

‘Right.’ He found a middle ground, sitting beside her, one arm around her while she leaned on his shoulder. He was still sweaty inside his clothes, and with the convertible top of the car up and the wipers off, the windows were getting misty. 

‘Okay,’ Asami said, firmly. ‘I just - I need to tell you how I feel, so there are no false expectations or anything. I think you’re gorgeous, and believe me, I want to make out with you, so much. But you’ve been having all that - that adventurous adult sex and I’ve never had any. I _want_ to, but… but I don’t know how far I can go yet. So can you understand I might need to ask you to stop? Is that okay, or would you rather not start anything in that case?’

‘Of course it’s okay,’ he said quickly. ‘I mean, I never expected - you know, I know nothing’s guaranteed. And whatever we do, I want to make it amazing for you. You tell me what you want, and I promise I’ll never go farther than what you asked for.’

‘Thank you,’ Asami said, and gave a nervous little laugh. ‘It’s a little intimidating, you know? You having all that experience. But then I tell myself, it should be reassuring. You know what you’re doing.’ She twisted towards him. ‘And it already feels good every time you touch me. And back there, when you had your hands here and you kissed me on my back, I felt like…’ She trailed off with a little squirm of her hips that said volumes.

‘Can I do it again? Not on your back. Kiss you.’

‘Can I kiss _you?’_

‘Uh-huh.’ 

She slid closer, bringing her hand up from his chest to the nape of his neck, and pressed her lips to his. After a hesitant moment, she squeezed in close, her lips parting and shifting, and he wrapped both arms around her, letting her lead. He felt the first soft flicker of her tongue, felt her breath gust against his cheek, and opened his mouth a little, inviting her in. 

‘Mmmm...’ She pushed up closer, stroking his upper lip, slipping her tongue deeper and combing her fingers into his hair. Her breathing was quick again, as if she had slipped right back to the way she’d felt in his lap. She drew back and looked up at him, her lipstick smudged at the corner of her mouth. ‘I’m too hot,’ she said, and unbuttoned her coat, wriggling out of it and into his lap, her skirt riding up as she knelt astride his legs. He gave a grunt of surprise and pleasure as her mouth covered his again, and pressed his hands to her sleek, naked back.

‘Aren’t you too hot?’ she breathed. ‘Take off your coat.’ She fumbled with his buttons, and he helped her to pop them open and struggled out of the heavy sleeves, wrapping his arms around her again. ‘No, your jacket too.’ She shelled him out of it impatiently and embraced him again, kissing him urgently, pressing her body against his with a wriggle. The beads on her silky dress clicked softly, and he swept his hands down the triangle of bare skin to the small of her back, feeling surreptitiously for a zip or a hook, just in case.

‘Okay, I want… I want us to lie down. I’m going to let the seat-back down. That okay?’

‘That’s okay. That’s more than okay. I mean - do you have any idea how hot this is? How hot _you_ are?’

‘I’m feeling kind of lucky that you’re still keen when I’m all gross and sweaty.’

‘Sweaty is _not_ gross. Sweaty is incredibly sexy. Sweaty, seriously, sweaty makes me want to lick your armpits. Is that gross?’ 

She giggled. ‘A little bit, yeah. Only because of the word “armpits”. I say “underarms,” okay?’

‘Underarms,’ he repeated, nodding.

‘And I don’t think you should, because I bet deodorant doesn’t taste very good.’ She hesitated, and he could feel her thighs tensing on his. ‘Is there anywhere else you’d like to lick? I mean, like we are now.’

‘How about here?’ He bent his head to the V of her dress, touched his tongue to the shadowy cleft between her breasts, and drew it gently upward, turning his eyes up to meet hers. She shuddered and hid her face in his hair. ‘You okay?’

‘I’m - yeah, I - I’m not used to feeling like this _with_ someone. You’re _there_ and you’re looking at me and I feel shy.’

‘It’s okay.’ He stroked her back, breathing in the scent rising from her warm skin. ‘You’re used to feeling like this by yourself, though?’

‘Not exactly like this. You know. Nearly everyone does it, right?’

‘I sure do. Lately, I do it thinking about you.’

‘Mm.’ Her thighs squeezed tighter. ‘I think about you.’

‘Oh, Asami...’ He kissed the notch at the base of her throat, nudging her to lift her head. ‘Asami - sweetie - you’re _so_ hot… _so_ sexy...’

‘Wait a sec, I want to get the seat.’ She leaned from side to side, fumbling with catches, and the seat behind Bolin thumped back. He fell with it, Asami still sitting up astride him, his hands slipping from her back to her thighs. He rubbed up and down through the beaded silk of her skirt, waiting.

‘And I need a light. Hold on, there’s a flashlight in the glovebox.’ She leaned back, her body arching, her bottom rubbing on his thighs, and his hips twitched up involuntarily. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips tightly together, and made a compromise with himself that it was okay to bloodbend a little bit to assuage a raging boner. _Come on. Out of there. Play it cool. Play it soft. Maybe later. Depends on her._

Asami had found her flashlight and switched it on. They both squinted in the brightness, and she aimed it away from Bolin’s face. ‘I sound so contradictory, right? I’m shy about you looking at me, but I want to see you.’ She played the light down his chest, his rumpled shirt pulling loose at the waist. ‘Can I unbutton you?’

‘Yeah.’ He lay there nibbling his lower lip as she opened the front of his shirt and folded it back.

‘You’re really dressed warmly. I keep finding another layer.’ She pulled his undershirt out of his waistband and pushed it up over his chest, lowering herself to lie on top of him, both of them breathing rapidly. ‘And can I kiss you again?’

‘Holy crap, yes. Wait.’ He hooked the front of his undershirt back over his head and behind his neck, then pulled her in, moaning as her mouth bloomed against his and her tongue slipped in. She moved against him with quiet, sweet little sounds, and rolled her hips, rocking the soft mound between her legs against his belly. He couldn’t resist sliding his hands down to squeeze her bottom, kneading the round cheeks through the silk, feeling the outlines of her underwear, elastic and lace. ‘’Sthat feel good?’

‘Mm.’ His hands travelled over her thighs as she kissed him, stroking and sucking his tongue, and she hitched her bottom up, scooting her knees forward a bit. ‘You can put your hands up my skirt.’ Her breath gusted across his lips as she spoke, hot and moist, before she sealed hers to them again.

‘Mm!’ _Don’t push too far. Up under. Legs. Oh, her legs. Stockings, garters. What the hell do I do about garters?_ Above the stocking tops, the real silk started, the skin of her upper thighs, moist with sweat, tickling his fingers with the finest, downiest little hairs. She felt so different from Lin, whose thighs were firm and flat with muscle. Asami was slim, but there was softness under her skin, squeezable little tender puffs on her inner thighs above the garter elastic. He skimmed his thumbs higher and felt her shivering, mewing into his mouth. 

‘Touch me.’ The words burst against his chin like a wet bubble. ‘Through my undies. Please?’ She kissed him again before he could answer, so he just slid his fingers up the underside of her thighs to reach her bottom again. Lace and elastic and satin, frilly and girly and secret. The fabric was a little puffy, shifting over her skin as he rubbed in circles and her hips squirmed. ‘In the front too,’ she mumbled.

‘What should I call it? What do _you_ call it?’

‘Don’t laugh.’

‘Won’t laugh.’

‘Kitty.’

‘Pet Kitty?’

‘Pet Kitty.’

He brought his right hand around over her hip and stroked her tummy. As with her inner thighs, there was just a little soft puff, he could hardly even call it fat, under her navel. It made him squirm, it was so adorable. He pressed in gently and skimmed his hand downward till his fingertips felt the texture of hair under satin. Asami moaned and her front teeth clicked against his. He began working his fingers in circles again as he slid them down and felt the top of the cleft, and knew he’d pressed on her clitoris from the sudden little buck her hips made. Down some more, and the satin was soaking, squishy, slippery wet. He pressed in and rubbed rapidly, feeling puffy lips shift under the pressure, and she bucked again and gave a little squeak.

‘What feels good?’

‘Go up. Ooh… ooh, there… tickle it, wiggle your finger… nnggh!’

‘Like this? Good?’

_‘Mmm!’_ She was quivering, twitching, and her hands clamped on his shoulders, one digging the handle of the flashlight into his muscle painfully. Her face was quivering too, her eyes squeezed shut and eyebrows crumpled together, but her mouth hanging open, wet and shining, a clear droplet trembling at the rim of her lower lip. He lifted his head and licked it for her.  ‘Mm! _Mmmm! Aaah!’_ She collapsed on him, her hips jerking until she grew still, just panting hoarsely. He kept his right hand cupped between her legs, and smoothed his left up and down her back. 

‘Asami-sami,’ he crooned by her ear. ‘Sweet, lovely, sexy Asami-sami. Kitty-kitty-kitty.’

‘Ohh...’ she sighed. ‘Oh, I didn’t think I’d go _this_ far.’

‘Feel okay about it?’

‘Mmm. Just surprised.’

‘You’re really sensitive.’

‘My kitty feels all twitchy.’ She lifted her head and shook her hair back. Her bandeau was crooked, and she reached up to slip it out, dropping it beside Bolin’s head.

‘Oh, I thought Kitty was its _name.’_

‘No, kitty like pussy, but I like kitty better.’

‘Kitty’s really cute.’

‘What do you call yours?’

‘Usually cock, sometimes dick.’

‘Can I see?’

‘You want to see?’

‘I’m a little nervous about it. Having a good look would help.’ She rolled off onto one hip and propped herself on her elbow. 

‘Want to take your dress off? It’s really crumpled, and I don’t want to mess it up more.’

‘It’s kind of hard to.’

‘Why?’

‘Um… you see how my boobs don’t slip out no matter how I move around? It’s stuck to me with double-sided tape. That’s the only reason I can wear it without a bra.’

‘You’re so smart! I thought that was just, like, magic. But the tape comes off, right?’

‘Well, yeah. But it can hurt a bit.’ She slipped the shoulder straps down over her arms, the front of the dress still clinging to her skin. ‘You can take it off if you’re gentle.’

‘Here?’ He pulled the hem away a little, and felt the resistance as he came to the edge of the tape. Asami held her breath as he peeled it off, leaving a reddened stripe on her pale skin, with little white gaps in it where the tape had wrinkled or puckered. ‘I’ll kiss it better,’ he murmured, peeling carefully and nuzzling lightly. 

‘Ouch,’ said Asami softly, and lifted her hand to pet the back of his head.

‘Mmm?’

‘It’s okay. It’s nice.’ 

There were two long strips of tape on each side, holding the dress to her chest and to her sides under her arms. The peeling was easier there, where her sweat had softened the adhesive, but the skin was paler and softer, the stripe redder. He blew softly over it to try to take out the sting. The left side, then the right side of the dress sagged and crumpled, then slipped down over her breasts. They hung soft and heavy, their undersides sweetly curved. He gazed at them wide-eyed, raising his fingertips to stroke the slope of the left one.

‘You’re staring.’

‘They’re really beautiful. I want a good look, too.’

‘But I have funny nipples.’

‘What’s so funny?’

‘How they’re tucked in. Nipples are supposed to poke out.’

‘They’re poking out a little.’ He brushed one little pink bud, peeping out of its nest.

‘That’s because I’m all excited.’

‘Do they get hard?’ She nodded. ‘Can I see?’

‘Go on.’

He pressed the skin on either side of the indentation with his thumb and forefinger, gently twiddling, and the nipple gradually emerged about halfway, the skin around it developing a few little goosebumps as it did.

‘Wow.’ He nuzzled in and pressed his lips around the nipple, wetting it with his tongue and then sucking lightly. Asami’s hand went still in his hair, then kept stroking as he turned his eyes up to hers. 

‘Mmm?’ He raised his eyebrows.

‘You look like a baby,’ Asami said with a nervous smile.

‘Mm.’ He lifted his hand to hold her other breast and sucked a little harder, feeling her nipple bead against his tongue. 

‘Okay… okay, that feels good...’ She sighed and leaned closer, the soft flesh of her breast pressing against his nose.

‘Mmk.’ He released it and admired the effect, deep pink and shiny wet in the torchlight. 

‘I’ve never seen them stick out like that,’ Asami said, her breathing light and fluttery. ‘Will you even them up?’

‘Mmm.’ He took in the other nipple and sucked eagerly, rolling his tongue in a circle around it, hearing her pant. ‘Mwah! How’s that?’

‘Now they almost look _too_ big.’

‘They look perfect to me. This is so cute, like a little nipple hard-on. Can I suck them some more?’

‘You’re getting sidetracked. You’re supposed to show me your cock.’ She hesitated just a fraction before saying it, and the sound of the word in her mouth got him all chubbed up again. 

‘You got it. Here.’ He couldn’t resist showing off a little, and metalbent his zip down. ‘Hang on.’ He hooked his thumbs into his waistband and lifted his butt, pushing his pants and shorts down. ‘Here’s my junk. Hope you like it.’

She shifted the flashlight to shine into his lap. It was weird to see it spotlit like that, his dark curly bush and his plump cock, lifting off from his body a little. 

‘How does it feel?’ she asked.

‘It’s feeling pretty nice right now. Getting hard. I was kind of controlling it before so I could concentrate on you more. Now I’m just letting it do its thing.’

‘So I can see how it works,’ Asami said, with a flash of curiosity in her eyes.

‘Yeah,’ he said with a little chuckle. ‘You get a full demonstration. Want to feel it?’

‘I think so.’ She reached out and laid her hand on its back, tentatively, and petted back towards the base. ‘Tell me how.’

‘Wrap your hand round it. You can hold it a little tighter. Just like that. I really like that. Now keep hold of it, and move your hand up and down.’

‘The skin slides. I thought it would be tight.’

‘It gets tighter. Especially if you rub it just like that. You can feel it, right? Getting thicker?’ He closed his eyes and rocked his head back, sighing. ‘Ooh...’

‘Is this how you do it?’

‘Mm. Thinking about you. This time I’ve got you right here.’ He gazed up at her and smiled. ‘I’m feeling really lucky.’ 

‘I’m going to take my dress off,’ she said, withdrawing her hand and wriggling out of the crumpled, rustling skirt. She pushed it away into the back seat, on her hands and knees in just lacy knickers and silk stockings. ‘Now I want a better look.’

‘See how it’s still getting bigger? Straightening up? It’s pretty cool, right?’ He propped himself up on his elbows. ‘And see how the head comes out of its skin. You can help it. Just hold it with your thumb and fingers and pull.’

‘It looks so _red.’_

‘It’s blushing ‘cause you’re so hot. Rub it a little more.’

‘Can you show me how to make you come?’

‘This is a really good start. Ooh… now this is as big as it gets. If… if we were going all the way tonight now’s when I’d need to put a rubber on, I guess.’

‘I don’t have any.’ Asami’s hand slowed down.

‘That’s okay, ‘cause we’re not doing it tonight, right? We’re just… oh… just learning to get each other off. Oh, Asami… that’s good, that’s good, keep it up… your hand’s so soft… kiss me, will you? Mmmm...’ He arched up into her hand, mouth open and eager for hers. Her soft lips and her soft hand worked him together, he could feel her growing confidence, and his pleasure was building and burning. He rocked his hips into it, grunting softly, feeling her breasts brush his chest and shoulder, clenching his hands tightly.

‘Good?’ she breathed against his lips.

‘Mmm… mmm… unh… I’m getting really close. Want to see how I come?’

‘Your face is so cute,’ she murmured, lifting up. ‘You’re all pink.’

‘Rub faster. Oh… it’s gonna be a bit messy. Asami! Ah!’ He came in three thick spurts, three hot delicious shudders, and a last weak dribble as he slumped down, breathing deeply and feeling blissful. Asami’s hand slowed, just stroking now, and then she lifted it away. 

‘Pretty good?’ she asked.

‘Really good. Ohh…’ He wiped his face with the back of his forearm. ‘Okay… let me clean up.’ He sat up and rummaged in his crumpled pants pocket to find his handkerchief, and wiped the spunk off his belly. 

Asami sat up too, reaching out and pulling up her coat from the footwell. She dragged it over them, snuggling up to Bolin under its thick weight. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. The coat felt cold at first, but quickly warmed up with their shared heat. 

‘Wow,’ Bolin said after a little while. ‘Look at the windows. They’re completely fogged up.’

‘We’re a very hot couple,’ Asami said seriously, then giggled and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. That got him chuckling, nuzzling into her hair, and she wrapped her arms back round his neck and kissed him, and they lay pressed together, smooching dreamily. 

‘That _was_ good, right?’ Asami asked him. ‘I don’t just think so because I’m a beginner.’

‘It was terrific. _You’re_ terrific. I should be checking on _you._ You’re okay, right? No regrets?’ He smoothed her hair back from her face.

‘Nope.’ She shook her head. ‘This is just about the best I’ve ever felt. I’d just like to tell my old Health teacher she was completely wrong about losing self-respect. There’s only one problem,’ she sighed.

‘What’s that?’

‘I really want to lie and cuddle with you, but I don’t want to sleep in a car all night.’

‘Aw, no? Okay, I guess you’re a pretty fancy girl like that.’

‘Come home with me?’

‘Yes, please.’

They helped each other to dress, though there was no disguising how dishevelled they were. It made them both giggly. They did what they could with Bolin’s comb and Asami’s compact mirror and called it good enough, before driving back into town. On this trip he sat as close to her as he could without actually messing up her driving, one arm around her shoulders. Each time she glanced away from the road ahead he was gazing at her.

‘You look so mushy,’ she said, smiling fondly.

‘I feel mushy. It’s great! Would it throw you off if I rubbed your knee?’

‘Yes it would! You’re bad.’

‘Have I told you the way you drive is great? With one arm out like that? You just look so cool and in control.’

‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’

‘Just saying what I think.’

It was so late when they got back to Asami’s building that they woke the doorman, who perhaps should not really have been asleep at his desk. They rode up in the elevator trying very hard to behave themselves, shooting each other conspiratorial glances and smiles. As Asami unlocked the door, Bolin pressed up to her back, holding her hips, and kissed the side of her neck.

‘You’re very, very bad,’ she muttered, fumbling with the lock.

‘Gonna get you in trouble with the neighbours.’ He lifted his head. ‘Hey, what about Wei?’

‘We’re going to be quiet and sneaky.’ She put her finger to her lips and shushed. ‘Come on.’ She opened the door and led him in by the hand. The apartment was dark except for one lamp in the hall, and a light left on in Asami’s room. Her bed was turned down, fresh as a daisy. ‘Okay,’ Asami said, closing the bedroom door and holding Bolin’s lapels. ‘I want to have a shower.’

‘I’ll scrub your back.’

‘Just for now, I’d like to do it by myself.’ She dotted a kiss on the tip of his nose. ‘Then you can take one, and we can snuggle up in bed. Okay?’

‘Okay with me. But I’m a really good back-scrubber. You’ll see.’ 

She dropped her coat over the chest at the foot of the bed and disappeared into the en suite bathroom. Bolin threw his coat over hers and then flopped back on the bed, arms outstretched. 

‘Wow,’ he breathed. Asami would be undressing, stepping out of her shoes, stripping off the crumpled dress, her damp lacy knickers, undoing her garters and rolling down her stockings. She might not have invited him to see that this time, but he thought she would before long. A _girlfriend,_ not a secret lover. That would be something to get used to. He only hoped he wasn’t going to mess this up, that he could keep things balanced between her and Lin. He kind of wanted to tell Lin about this, to tell someone, anyway, someone who wouldn’t be uncomfortable hearing it, who would also understand how special and precious it was. So, not Mako, and not Tahno either. Maybe Lin. If Asami said it was okay.

He lay replaying it all in his head while the water ran, and stopped, and looked up as Asami came padding out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, with another one wound around her head. Her face was bare and clean, though there was still rosy colour in her cheeks and her lips. 

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘you go and clean up, and come to bed. I put out an extra towel for you.’

‘Yes ma’am.’ 

He scrubbed himself down thoroughly, hoping that the cleaner he was, the closer Asami would want to be. She was a lot more self-conscious about getting dirty or messy than Lin was, but that was okay. A little self-conscious about parts of her body, too, but then, she obviously knew she was beautiful. Why shouldn’t she? So that was probably okay too. He rinsed off, wiped himself down and tucked the towel around his waist before cleaning his teeth with toothpaste on his finger. Asami’s bathroom counter was dotted with bottles and jars of skincare stuff. It was hard to imagine her skin really needed that much help, but maybe it felt nice. He opened one jar and confirmed that it smelt nice.

‘Going to bed with my girlfriend now,’ he told his reflection in the mirror, and gave it a big smile. 

Asami was sitting up in bed, wearing a cocoa-coloured silk nightie, unless it was a negligée or a chemise or something. Her hair was still damp, hanging in loose curls around her face. 

‘I don’t have any pyjamas that’ll fit you,’ she said. ‘So I guess you can get in as you are.’ She gave him a little smile, and he saw that she was feeling nervous about something, though he wasn’t sure what now. She seemed to relax as he climbed into bed and dropped the towel, though. She rolled towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, drawing him into a kiss.

‘You smell so pretty,’ he murmured. 

‘This is the second time we’ll share a bed.’

‘A lot nicer than the first time, right?’

‘Mmmm. Will you cuddle me all night?’

‘You sleepy?’ He kissed her forehead.

‘I am now.’

‘Me too, a little. Want to spoon?’

‘I’ll give it a try.’

‘Just roll over like this… and I scootch up to you… and you’re my little spoon.’

‘Is Lin your little spoon too?’ she asked, nestling back against him.

‘Nah, I’m hers.’ He nuzzled her bare shoulder.

‘Do you compare us?’

‘I notice the differences,’ he said carefully. ‘There are a lot. I like the differences. Both ways. Don’t worry about ‘em.’

Asami yawned. ‘You make a good spoon. Ni-night, honey.’

‘Ni-night.’ He lay curled around her, feeling a little disappointed that there would be no more action tonight, but grateful to be there, under her quilt, with her bottom in his lap and her sweet-smelling hair on the pillow by his face. Asami’s shampoo left a musky, rosy scent. He lay listening to her breathing soften and deepen, until he grew drowsy too.


End file.
